Today in my C25K conditioning program I ran ONE WHOLE MILE without any walking, and I wasn’t even tired when I finished. In fact, I could have easily kept on truckin’ but I am trying not to be my usual hurry-hurry self, and instead listen to real runners who say that I should ease up my mileage veeeery slowly in these first months in order to avoid a beginner-runner-injury.
Here I am out running in the greenway park in our neighborhood.
So I quit at one mile, which I finished in just under 11 minutes. I know that’s a turtle’s pace for many of you who run regularly, but it felt great to me considering that less than a month ago, I hadn’t really moved my body in any notable way in several very sad years.
The last few times I’ve run, including today, I did it on a treadmill at the YMCA in our neighborhood. We’ve had a family membership with the Y for several years but the only person who has ever used it is E, who plays pick-up basketball at the downtown Y many hours each week, every week. But I’d barely ever been in any of the YMCA branches around town until I realized last week that with the time change, it’s now too dark for me to go running outdoors after I get home from work. I was kind of freaking out, wondering how I was going to be able to keep my forward momentum up when it suddenly occurred to me that we have this Y membership, and there’s a very nice Y branch just a few blocks from Casa Hickju. So I headed over to check it out and discovered that it’s open open from 6am til 9pm every day. Thus, happily, neither dark nor freezing cold will be able to quash my Couch to 5K dreams this winter.
As it turn out, I really like running on the super high end treadmills they have at our neighborhood Y. I like being able to see my time and mileage right in front of me as I go, and I’ve also begun doing a simple strength training circuit with the weight machines they have there for about 15-20 minutes after I finish running. One other reason I like running on the treadmills at the Y is that it seems to be easier on my shins and feet. When I do my running on a treadmill, I don’t have issues with numb foot soles or early-stage shin pain like I sometimes do when I run on the outdoor greenway paths. So that’s good.
I can’t tell y’all how much I am enjoying running. And I also can’t tell you how utterly shocked I am to be saying that to you, or to myself. I NEVER thought I would like running. This is just kind of, well. weird.
I’m not entirely sure what’s going on here, but I’m going to hang with it and see where it is I end up running… I must be going someplace, even if I don’t know where it is yet.
Awesome! Keep up the great work. As someone who used to hate running and now trains for marathons, you'll be amazed at how far your body will take you if you just let it.
@K2 – THat's incredible that you went from non-runner to marathoner. I'd love to hear more about how you got from point A to point B. What prompted you to start running? How long did it take you to run your first race, and when did you decide to go for it and do a marathon? I'm finding that I love reading other people'e running stories
Katie
I signed up for a charity 5K after being prompted by a coworker. I then received so much positive feedback from friends after running a 5K that I was hooked. I still didn't run a whole lot, but when I was going to sign up for another 5K, my husband suggested training for the 10K that day instead. Oh, and hey while we're doing a 10K, why don't we sign up for the half marathon? I'm super competitive and accepted the challenge. I was hooked. I did a marathon a year after my first half, and am doing my 2nd marathon this weekend. So from 5K to marathon, about 3 years (took it nice and slow and still hurt myself along the way). I'm always trying to improve, I love that my mileage is now high enough that I can eat whatever I want and maintain my weight, I love being alone in nature with my thoughts, etc. etc.
You know, I think as we get older (I'm the same age as you), just the ability to be able to do something rigorous with our bodies is pleasing in a way that it couldn't have been in our 20's or 30's, when we took our bodies' ability to bounce back for granted. I had put on 20 pounds since having two kids in my late thirties/early forties, and just thought that was how it was going to be at my age now (44). However, I started power walking over the summer for about 30 minutes every day, and noticed changes in my body very quickly. I am happy to report that I am wearing clothes that I haven't worn since before my first pregnancy. I think that you will so love the benefits of regular exercise, that you will be hooked. Plus, as older parents, we really need to keep ourselves as healthy as possible for a good long time. Congratulations to you on your new found vitality.
@Danielle – I hadn't thought of it that way but I think you're right. It's not just that I can't bvelieve I'm running, I can't believe I am running at this stage of my life, when I am beginning to see the first signs of what getting old will be like. And I think you're also right tht those of us who choose to have babies later in life have some extra/specific responsibility to do what we can to be healthy and active for as long as we can
CONGRATS on your new power walking routine
Warmly,
Katie
Yay for you! I started running at age 51 and totally surprised myself by placing in a few 5k races. I hated running as a kid/young adult but absolutely love it now. Doesn't matter if it's outside or on a treadmill… I still get excited everytime I run a mile and do a little internal celebration. As with K2 above, I'm now training for longer distances and hoping to do a half marathon this spring. Looking forward to hearing about your progress!
@AnnieR – That's awesome. I'd love to hear more about how you started. What gave you the idea in the first place? How long did it take you to get to 5K-ready status? When did you start racing, and is it fun?
Thanks!
Katie
How did I get started? Totally by accident! I'd been a walker for quite a while and would enter 5k races just for fun. One year we did the Detroit Corktown St. Patrick's Day race and there were over 7000 entrants. I was in the starting chute and had to run or be trampled…it was like Black Friday at Wal-Mart! I kept running and pretty soon realized I'd gone almost a mile. I got very excited and walked/ran the rest of the way. After that it was my goal to see if I could run just a bit farther in each race. Pretty soon I could run the whole 3.1 distance and realized that running really clears my head. I can deal with my mental shit list and when I'm done-no worries. Well, not really but the petty stuff is gone. I got injured in December-stress fracture in my right ankle. When I couldn't run, I realized how much I really loved it.
I'm so proud of you!
That's great, how cool that there is a Y nearby and that you can access it and like the treadmills. The shorter days definitely make many exercising options more difficult, darn it.