Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Couch to 5K

Within the last month or two I have heard enough inspirational running stories to really start to think that I might be able to get into it, despite the fact that I greatly dislike running. You know those stories of women who consider themselves in-athletic and who then somehow are brought by peer pressure into a situation where they find themselves training for and then running a marathon with force and stamina they never knew they had? I have been really pumped by those stories lately, and suddenly, the more people I talk to about running, the more people I realize are runners. And then at a recent Women's Day Basic Running Class, I got so inspired that I did the unthinkable: in a moment of passion I announced that I would be running a 5K around Thanksgiving time, and would anyone like to join me so that we can train towards a common goal. Really, Metta? Really? Could I not have just said that it was a fabulous class, that I had been really inspired, and that I was off to eat cookies with milk and watch the movie "Run, Fatboy Run", thank you very much?

Because that's a commitment I can deal with.

But unfortunately that's not what I said, and so I went home, and three days after the class (when the panic had worn off) I did some research, found a Turkey Trot race nearby which will be held just before Thanksgiving, and looked up the Couch to 5K training schedule. And you know what? It hasn't been bad at all. True to all of the warnings I have read, I am tempted to push myself far beyond the very basic starting point of the Couch to 5K training regiment, but the last thing I want to do is sabotage my current semi-positive feelings towards running, so I'm forcing myself to take it slow. I know that for some of you, a 5K is equivalent to the warm-up to your warm-up, to your warm-up, but for me, this is just what I need to get started! Finding the time and the location has been the trickiest part of running so far, but it all finally fell into place last week and I feel really motivated to succeed with this. I hope that someday I'll be writing about my marathon, but until then, it's me and the Turkey Trot.

6 comments:

jojo said...

We should go running on the duke forest trails on either side of my house on Saturday mornings! (I would say during the week too, but apparently in September they open up duke forest to deer hunting with bows and arrows on weekdays... For real). Let me know if you want to go!

melandpeter said...

I used to really dislike running too. It wasn't until I was at the MTC and we had goodol Thornock and Christensen Shimai that were these super motivated, gorgeous runners and they inspired me. I ran nearly every morning of my mission. Sadly I haven't done it since being home (almost 5 years now). I'm proud of you. 5km is no mean feat either as far as I'm concerned. x

Prouses said...

Funny you say you made that commitment... Dwight and I have been researching couch to 5k as well... I think his work is sponsoring some kind of fitness/ wellness program, and is trying to motivate everyone to run a 5k. I love to hear how awesome some people can be as runners. I just wish I could have an ounce of their motivation, so I could get off the couch to begin with :) We'll see...

Kim said...

Hey I'm doing the Couch to 5K program too! Well, if you count being stuck on week 3 for 5 months "doing the program" that is...

Heather said...

Awesome goal! You can totally do it. That's what I may be doing post-baby several months from now.

kelley said...

For some reason, I keep telling myself that someday I'll be a runner. I have started the Couch to 5K training twice and both times didn't make it past the 3rd week. Running is way hard. And it bores me to tears. My little sister is a crazy good runner and thinks the family should run the Turkey Trot this year... we'll see...
Good luck to you!!!