Maybe it’s a short attention span, maybe it’s the price of having small children, but I have a bad habit of picking up new activities only to drop them a few weeks or months later. Bryan calls our guest room closet “the place hobbies go to die.” You’ll find knitting needles, oil paints and paper crafts in there, and that’s just the start.
They’ve all been abandoned for one of my more current pursuits, most of which I recently realized involve food or alcohol—cooking, beer-making, gardening and (especially) golf. I’m not saying I’m going to give those up, but I really do feel like I need to add something to the mix. Something that would be good for me.
So, a couple of weeks ago I downloaded a Couch to 5K program for my phone, and I signed up for a 5K on July 24. I reasoned it would help me better manage stress, not to mention the aforementioned food and alcohol. Plus, I just got myself a whole two hours of alone time every week!
When I started, the 5K was eight and a half weeks away, which seemed like a tight but reasonable schedule to get into some sort of shape. I’m not exactly starting from the couch, but definitely the proximity of the living room. I have to take this pretty seriously if I actually intend to run three miles (in succession!) next month.
The program, which strongly suggests training every other day, provides verbal cues over your music of choice. The first week, I started with 60 seconds of running, followed by 90 seconds of walking. Repeat for 20 minutes, and add in 10 minutes for a warm up and cool down.
This week, I’m running for 90 seconds and walking for two minutes. Totally manageable, though not entirely enjoyable. I looked ahead to next week (which starts for me on Sunday), and see that I’ll be running for three minute increments. I am afraid to look much beyond that.
I am not remotely athletic (though my new running wardrobe just might suggest otherwise). I have a pretty reasonable amount of doubt that I will be able to run the complete 5K without walking, but that’s my goal.
Given my inability to stick to much of anything, I created a new category and will post my progress here. Help keep me honest.
Two weeks down, seven to go.