The Running Man...er...Kelly
I hate working out. I'm not the kind of person who takes great joy in a good sweat. I'd much rather be sitting in a cool dry place away from UV rays sipping an iced coffee, but the reality is that I'm in my 30's, I have two small kids and lest I accept a life spent with a pouchy belly I better accept that doing what I have always done isn't going to get me back into bathing suit shape.
What I hate even more than working out is self loathing and a soft muffin top hanging out of my slacks...so thanks to vanity here I am. Peer pressure has pushed me to train for a 5k. I know...I know...I'm following the herd of other 5k people throwing money at events laden with paint or mud or glow in the dark junk. But gimmicks aside, planning to run a 5k means training to RUN a 5k. I know you can walk it, but really what is the point of that? I can walk anywhere at any time for the low low price of $0.
So rewind to June to when my best pal peer pressures me to do a 5k with her. Since I am a soft hearted soul deep down inside I eventually gave in to the mild peer pressure. Also since I have not made the trek down to see her and her family yet in their entire tenure down in Maryland that made me a super lame friend anyway. I may as well visit, endeavor in a healthy activity and knock a few items off my list at once. So super unfit me had to start running.
I'm not a paid endorser of anything, but since two peers had talked about the couch to 5k program I figured that would be my best starting point. I realize two positive reviews doesn't sound impressive but since they're people I know and whom I also would not describe as super-athletic, that if it worked for them then surely it would work okay for me. All I wanted was to keep moving the entire 5k and not barf by the end. (If you know me you'll understand my low expectations are partially humorous and partially honest fear of being a total running n00b.) It's a walk-run pattern and eventually you walk less and less and run more and more. The point is to slowly get used to running so you don't get sore, injured, pissed off and quit.
So after several weeks of pushing through really sore run/walking I finally hit a stride by about week six. I know...it took forever! The entire program is 8 weeks so for a long time it was really horrible. I won't sugar coat because my shins were killing me. I know people who run seem to really enjoy it but since I'm new it just took longer to get in the groove and force my body through several bouts of soreness until it realized that I wasn't kidding around and was actually trying to run the full 5 kilometers. It also doesn't hurt that I decided to drag my dog along with me on these outdoor adventures. He is so excited every time he sees me wearing running shoes you'd think I just tied T-Bone steaks to my feet.
The actual race went fine, we finished in about half an hour which given my non-marathon runner shape means it went really well. I also wasn't dying keeping up with Kim, so I figure that was great since I don't tend to have a work out buddy in my normal life because all of my closest friends have moved and even when we did live nearby one another we were not gym people. We were more like, "hey want to go grab a drink" people.
The weather is getting cold here in New England so I'm going to need some cold weather healthy activities. I have given up on baking the perfect cheesecake since a.) Trevor got mad at me for making desserts I didn't eat and he then felt obliged to eat b.) My kids never give me more than five minutes by myself anyway so I can't very well work on a big sticky messy project like baking and expect to be successful. I like making much more than I like eating dessert and with each passing year I dislike more and more sweets. I used to really enjoy brownies and now I just made a whole pan and I can't really convince myself to eat another slice. I think I'm bored by it all now. It's just so...bland.
Ideas? Indoor running notwithstanding I will need another outlet so my butt doesn't grow to the size of the couch.
What I hate even more than working out is self loathing and a soft muffin top hanging out of my slacks...so thanks to vanity here I am. Peer pressure has pushed me to train for a 5k. I know...I know...I'm following the herd of other 5k people throwing money at events laden with paint or mud or glow in the dark junk. But gimmicks aside, planning to run a 5k means training to RUN a 5k. I know you can walk it, but really what is the point of that? I can walk anywhere at any time for the low low price of $0.
So rewind to June to when my best pal peer pressures me to do a 5k with her. Since I am a soft hearted soul deep down inside I eventually gave in to the mild peer pressure. Also since I have not made the trek down to see her and her family yet in their entire tenure down in Maryland that made me a super lame friend anyway. I may as well visit, endeavor in a healthy activity and knock a few items off my list at once. So super unfit me had to start running.
I'm not a paid endorser of anything, but since two peers had talked about the couch to 5k program I figured that would be my best starting point. I realize two positive reviews doesn't sound impressive but since they're people I know and whom I also would not describe as super-athletic, that if it worked for them then surely it would work okay for me. All I wanted was to keep moving the entire 5k and not barf by the end. (If you know me you'll understand my low expectations are partially humorous and partially honest fear of being a total running n00b.) It's a walk-run pattern and eventually you walk less and less and run more and more. The point is to slowly get used to running so you don't get sore, injured, pissed off and quit.
So after several weeks of pushing through really sore run/walking I finally hit a stride by about week six. I know...it took forever! The entire program is 8 weeks so for a long time it was really horrible. I won't sugar coat because my shins were killing me. I know people who run seem to really enjoy it but since I'm new it just took longer to get in the groove and force my body through several bouts of soreness until it realized that I wasn't kidding around and was actually trying to run the full 5 kilometers. It also doesn't hurt that I decided to drag my dog along with me on these outdoor adventures. He is so excited every time he sees me wearing running shoes you'd think I just tied T-Bone steaks to my feet.
The actual race went fine, we finished in about half an hour which given my non-marathon runner shape means it went really well. I also wasn't dying keeping up with Kim, so I figure that was great since I don't tend to have a work out buddy in my normal life because all of my closest friends have moved and even when we did live nearby one another we were not gym people. We were more like, "hey want to go grab a drink" people.
The weather is getting cold here in New England so I'm going to need some cold weather healthy activities. I have given up on baking the perfect cheesecake since a.) Trevor got mad at me for making desserts I didn't eat and he then felt obliged to eat b.) My kids never give me more than five minutes by myself anyway so I can't very well work on a big sticky messy project like baking and expect to be successful. I like making much more than I like eating dessert and with each passing year I dislike more and more sweets. I used to really enjoy brownies and now I just made a whole pan and I can't really convince myself to eat another slice. I think I'm bored by it all now. It's just so...bland.
Ideas? Indoor running notwithstanding I will need another outlet so my butt doesn't grow to the size of the couch.