Running

And I ran
I ran so far away
--A Flock Of Seagulls

I never thought I would be a runner. I'd heard all the horror stories -- running kills your knees, your feet, your shins, etc. Having a heavy frame, I didn't think I was cut out to be a runner. And running scared the hell out of me, just because of the feeling of utter exhaustion I always got when I ran somewhere, thanks to my complete lack of conditioning.

I still may not be a runner...but running doesn't scare me like it used to.

During this past month, I never felt like I was getting all I could out of my cardio training. I could do the machines I was on without too much trouble, and my heart rate was up to where it should have been for cardio, but I never felt like I was pushing myself. I wondered if I needed to try something more intense. And with all the walking I've been doing, I started to think that maybe I could run after all.

I got a book two weeks ago called The Beginning Runner's Handbook, which describes a 13-week program designed to get anyone to be able to run a 5-K or 10-K run by the end of it. I read the program, and immediately thought, "I can do this." So today, I went out to try the first step:

Run one minute. Walk two minutes. Do this 12 times.

How simple is that? You don't have to run any kind of distance. Just run for one minute. Then walk off the laboured breathing. Then run one more minute.

And you know something? I did it. (Well, almost -- I miscalculated, and got back to my building after the tenth repetition. I know I could have done all 12, though, even if I was getting jelly-legged after the 10th run.) It was challenging, but not super-difficult. And at no point during the run/walk did I think I couldn't finish.

Can I do this for 13 weeks? Do I want to do this for 13 weeks? I don't know. But I want to do it again on Monday, and that's what matters.