Hop or drag?
Back to the title in a bit.
Week 2 of the C25K podcast & I was on run #3 (these are the 6 90-second runs) when it hit me…”this is hard.” Then I thought, sure, this is supposed to be hard cause, well, the 5K isn’t the problem part of the equation, the couch is. Years of sitting on the couch thinking about how much I needed to exercise is the problem. The call of the couch when I’d rather not go out & run is the problem. This is supposed to be hard, but other things are harder, so I can deal.
Okay, so what did I do? Did my first 1/4 mile warm up run & then instead of walking 1/4 mile & doing another 1/4 mile run, I turned on the podcast. Did the first five runs & turned around for the trip back for the 6th run. My huffing & puffing is hugely labored, I can’t really make fists because of all the swelling around my joints, & my stretching of my knees is a joke…the left one feels like there’s a wood block behind the knee when I try to bend it backward. What I’m saying is…I ain’t pretty out there, but I’m out there by golly!
The whole walk/run was only an hour. Hoping for a nice 30-minute walk with hubby tonight after dinner, so that’s good. But I didn’t want to overdo on my first day of the new week, so this worked out nicely.
Okay, Hop or Drag? On the way back two guys ran past me, a sort of beefy muscular guy and a sort of lanky thin guy. Lanky guy had a hop to his run…almost made it look like the ground beneath him was soft & bouncy. Beefy guy ran kinda like me, with a bit of a drag, showing all the effort involved. I mention this cause I’m wondering if I’ll always run like the beefy dragger or if I’ll eventually look more like hop-a-long. I’m guessing I’ll always drag.
Okay, food…has already been big:
Breakfast: hb egg
Lunch: 1 cup Kashi shredded wheat with 4 strawberries
Snack: 15 pretzels & 1 oz of smoked cheddar cheese
Dinner: 1.5 bbq country ribs, corn on the cob, & salad
Exercise: 1 hour run/walk
I commend you on the running. I’ve personally not believed in it for women over a certain age; I figure the extra pounding is not good for the boobs or the uterus. But more power to those of you that persevere! Kudos!
I have always been envious of those who hop along like the first guy. Even if you’ll always drag, you are out there which is what matters.
And what a great revelation about the fact that it’s hard b/c it’s supposed to be hard. When it gets easy you no longer make progress and this is your summer!
I can’t remember if you were around when I posted this link. It is a funny observation of someone’s about the ten types of runners. http://www.active.com/running/Articles/The_10_Types_of_Runners.htm
Good for you fighting through the pain! You know, pain is just weakness leaving the body. Well, I guess it is. I saw it on a shirt at walmart. ha ha.
Good job keeping at it! You’re right, couches are the root of many of my problems…
Mango x
that sucks about not being able to make fists and a sore knee. not fun.
i’m a “not even considering” type of runner. LOL.