Running

Running is something I always told myself I couldn’t do. I can walk for hours, and enjoy it, but I’ve never had the desire to pick up the pace and run.

This summer, I have downloaded a C25K app (couch to 5k), and I’ve been working my way through it. We have a great athletic park only minutes from our house, with a running track. We have a treadmill at the house, but I do enjoy running outside (though that may change when the weather gets yucky 😃). I used the treadmill a lot when I was pregnant with LH, motivated to keep the gestational diabetes under control. But when I’m on the treadmill, I am easily distracted by household responsibilities and, of course, the kids ( even if they stay upstairs). At the track, I’m on my own – I can just put my headphones in and not stop until I want to. Not to mention, the park in surrounded by farmland and the regional airport – it’s nice to see the planes taking off and landing and doing lessons.

The program is great – slowing increasing the running compared to the walking. I was surprised to find that I was enjoying it – until I saw what today’s program was. 5 minutes walk to warm up, followed by running 20 minutes straight. What? Could I even do that?

I did it. And I didn’t pass out, or throw up.

And after I realized, I am halfway to running 5k. I’ve got my eye on a 5k run in November…now I just need to work up the courage and register.

A few weeks ago I had lunch with an old friend. We talked about how hard it can be to make time for ourselves. She reminded me that if I made a commitment to a friend for coffee, I wouldn’t cancel, yet time for exercise is often the first thing that goes when life gets busy. Our conversation has stayed in my mind. Luckily for me I have a family that supports me – many evenings I have left dirty dishes and bedtime baths for D to handle while I lace up my runners. I’m not sure what will happen when the full craziness of life hits next week and the weather turns wet…I’m sure we will all find a new routine…