This is it! Today I start my running program! I'm very excited! Only...getting out of bed doesn't interest me at all...and once I'm out of bed, getting dressed doesn't interest me at all. I'm unemployed and I had to run around all day yesterday and I want to sit under the blankets and watch tv all day. Which is why I am doing this..
So, I finally get out of bed. I sit on the couch for awhile. There's a lot of psyching up that has to go on, and that pisses me off, because I was so excited about this!
Part of my problem is that I carry a lot of stuff everywhere I go. Day one consisted of walking 5 minutes, then running two minutes, then walking 5 minutes. I was going to be out of the house for 12 minutes and I nearly had to pack my old-lady-in-the-big-city cart. (Come to think of it, I should have because it has a seat!!) I was asked what I needed to carry, and here is the list: my ID, key, phone (which is also my only functioning timepiece), notepad, and pen (I was waiting for a very important call that I didn't want to miss, and would require notes). I also thought I should have a plan of where I was going, so I decided to run to the library - thinking it was about the proper distance (it was), and to return a library book that I've had for five years. Yes, five. And the most offensive thing is that I never read it. And I already had my own copy. So I was packing a library book, also. Once I figured out how to carry all this, I was pretty jazzed and took off out the back door.
What's that you say, aren't you going to mention doing the stretches that Flo-Jo taught you? No. I finally got myself psyched up to go and forgot to stretch. More on that in tomorrow's post, for sure. Speaking of Flo-Jo, she mentioned that it was a good idea to keep a runner's log, and although at this point in time, I don't see the need for it, I can see how in the future I will have wished I had kept one. (Although it would take me until Day 3 to actually start writing it!)
I'm headed down the alley, and I feel good. It's breezy, the sun is out, it's the perfect temperature. I have to keep looking at my phone to check the time, and it's hard to see in the sunlight...Of course, I forgot to bring my sunglasses..But I'm about to be a runner and none of this is getting in my way. It was around 9:30, so the town was pretty dead, which is good because I was headed to a busy area..Probably not so smart for someone as self-conscious as me on Day 1.
Well, the time had come, and I take off running. I'm trying to focus on the proper posture, and pushing off with the balls of my feet (something I never had focused on before). It was hard to swing my arms very effectively with all my luggage, but I tried. Within about a block, my chest and lungs were already burning. Now hold on! Two minutes of running was supposed to be so easy!! I dropped the book off, smiled at a woman who was clearly petrified of me by the book drop, tried to avoid contact with the creepy meth head at the end of the block, and rounded the corner to return home. I was seriously concerned at this point that I was about to die, and I still hadn't gone two minutes? I was panting like I had been running for days! (Which is why when I was asked what all I had to carry, my answer was a defibrillator and a lawn chair..man, I wish I had thought of my cart!) I finished that block, and I felt I had to stop, even though the two minutes weren't quite up. I think I just took off too fast..I didn't feel like I was full-on running, but I definitely think I should slow it down for next time. I also need to figure out something to keep better time than my phone.
I walked back and amazingly did not feel like an utter failure for not finishing the two minutes. Instead, I was quite pleased that I had gotten up and done it (and returned that pesky library book).
I got home, and did some half-hearted stretching and called it a success (Flo-Jo, for the record, says you can stretch before, after, or even later in the day). So, later in the day, I also did some yoga, which I had also been avoiding since the middle of April. I was feeling pretty awesome, which I thought was odd given the utter lack of running I actually did today!
I love the support and advice my friends have given me so far! It almost makes me feel like this is normal, and not quite as crazy as I think it is!
I can't wait to run again, but I will not veer off from my program which insists on a rest almost every other day. Something tells me I will still have an update tomorrow, though..
No comments:
Post a Comment