Ok, so I’m writing this blog post late but it was because I wanted to make sure I’d stuck to it before I started harping on about my achievements!
No, I’m not at 10k yet. FAR from it, however, I am now in week 6 and it’s going well.
I did couch to 5k a while ago and got the point where running 5k without stopping was F.I.N.E. Sure, I’m not fast and I’m definitely not athletic in any way [ew] but even jogging, very slowly, listening to music is enough to make me feel great about my body and my lungs. I have asthma and I never thought I’d be able to run ANY distance, ever.
After a good few months of inactivity due to a lot of life changes and stresses I let the ball drop and felt myself putting on weight and feeling lethargic so I decided to do something about it! Forget couch to 5k – I thought I’d aim for 10k.
It’s funny; I always said I NEVER wanted to run a 10k. And I kind of don’t, even now. I’m not training to do a charity run or any event, I’m just training to get fit again – pure and simple! Running is not only great for my body [except my knees] but it also makes me feel great mentally as well.
Jogging into week 6 and I have to say the only thing that’s getting me down at the moment is running outside. I have bad knees and the harshness of outdoor running can lead to my knees aching way too much which puts a bit of a downer on everything. I’m lucky enough to own a treadmill so I can run in the comfort of my own home. I also am terrible at any kind of hill running and I live at the top of a hill so… it’s not always appealing to go outside.
That being said, so far… so good. It starts out easy – and when I say easy I mean; if you haven’t ever run before you’ll be dismayed to realise running for 3 minutes can be a killer [just me?] but it’s forgiving and you really get to ease into the programme. So far I’ve found it pretty slow going and not too difficult to keep up with.
I’ve now reached the stage where I have to run for 20 minutes+ without stopping once a week with two runs in the week that are intervals and WOW. I’d actually forgotten how quickly your body gets used to moving for that long! The interval running now feels like a breeze and, yes, the running for 20+ minutes is hard but so far I’ve been able to do it so… go me!
If you’re even considering running I’d say just do it [#notspon lololol] because you’ll feel like you’ve accomplished something even after a few weeks. Yes, it’s hard, but worth it and cheaper than any fitness programme/gym because it’s free, duh!
Let me know if you’ve done this kind of training or if you’re considering it!
Sam
Pretty Thoughtful Blog 