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Remember when I started running a few months ago? Well, I stopped. Not for any real reason. Actually, I think it may have rained and then the next day I ate pizza or ice cream or something and that was that. Anyway, I picked up the habit again. I needed to because this COVID-19 thing has got a sister going stir crazy.
My first experiences with running were not positive, I still have nightmares about the track coach coming back to scrape me up off the side of the road when I had delusions of running grandeur in high school. Then I joined the Army and what was I thinking?
After I separated from the military, I swore I’d never run again. Even if someone was chasing me, I’d just walk really, really fast.
Then I registered for Run for God sometime around 2014 and that began my on/off love affair with running. So, why running? Because it’s 30 minutes where I can totally zone out. I don’t have to think about anything. I don’t have to respond to anyone. There are no demands on my time or my energy. It’s just my music, podcast, or whatever I have streaming at the time. It’s self care.
I’m not at the point where I’m running continuously like I did when I was in Missouri. It’s been years since I’ve been able to do that, so I’m running with the C25K app from Active. The app is a nine-week training program that’s designed to help “couch potatoes” become more active. Theoretically, by the time you finish the program, you should be able to finish a 3.1 mile run.
I like the app for a variety of reasons:
- The walk/run breaks are perfectly timed for where I am in my running journey
- I can keep track of my progress
- It’s easy to use
Some of the things I don’t like about the app are:
- The coach isn’t as active as I’d like {I need a lot of verbal reinforcement}
- At the end of the run, the coach just stops {again, I need a lot of verbal reinforcement}
Right now, I run three times per week {Monday, Wednesday, and Friday}, with a “fun run” on either Tuesday or Thursday if I feel up to it. If I don’t feel like running, I work out with my resistance bands.
And, because I like tee shirts, I’ve signed up for a few virtual races, which I’ll write about at a later date…
Are you a runner? How’d you get started? Do you have a time or mileage goal?
Run Happy,
LET’S CONNECT
