"I Should Be Doing What You're Doing"

My first pair of running shoes - Saucony Women's ProGrid Ride 3


As promised, I went out for a run yesterday after work. I had mapped out a new route, one that went north of our home. This one is flatter with only slight hills so I felt it was a little easier. The first run, I went for 90 sec without tiring and checking my watch. I continued to do mostly 90 sec runs with a 30 sec speed run. It felt good to break out of my slow shuffle run to a greater range of motion.

As I was running by a house, a woman, who looked to be at least 50#'s up on me, waved and said, "I should be doing what you're doing!" I hope she does. 1 1/2 months ago, I couldn't run 60 seconds without being exhausted. Now, I can easily do 90 sec and run/walk a route of 1 1/2 miles (going on 2). The process is slow but it is the right direction.

Sometimes I feel discouraged when I can't run as well or as much as I want to. Or when I don't lose the weight or when it comes back on. But is there any other option? I'm going forward, in the right direction. Slow changes, but lasting ones.

I timed my training and route and figured out an estimate on how long it will take me to do the 5k. If I ran/walked a 5K tomorrow, I could finish in -

(Drumroll please)

52 minutes!

A bit longer than I was hoping, but it's under an hour. Then again, having such a high estimate means that there is a lot of room for improvement.

My new training plan is off the training plan. For now, I'm going to do more fartlek runs; run until I pant heavily, walk until I catch my breath. I know that I could right now, get through a 5K slowly with running and walking. So now all I need to do is improve my time. I also realize that I will most likely end up walking some of my 5k. I didn't want to do this, but it's my reality. There will always be more 5K's to run in. Most important to me is that I enjoy running and that I keep the injuries down.

Monday - easy run/walk
Wednesday - more intense run/walk try to improve times, push myself farther
Friday - easy/intense run, depending on soreness level

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