One of those ultimate goals I set for myself was to take better care of myself. Along with this, really, is wanting to lose about 20 pounds (that I had previously lost in Colorado and then regained since moving back to Nebraska, which has resulted in some tears and being extremely disappointed in myself).
Back in April, since moving into an apartment with a fitness center, I had set a goal for myself to be able to jog a mile straight. By May, I had achieved this. I was alternating between treadmill work and Wii Fit activities (so fun!) Monday through Thursday during my lunch break for weeks. But, no weight lose occurred. Which was frustrating.
I decided I needed to step it up. While the weight loss still is a big part of the goal, I need to remind myself that the real goal is just to exercise more. Instead of just pushing myself to get to a mile and then teetering off, I needed to find something that would help me work out longer and make it more meaningful.
A few weeks ago, a friend of mine mentioned on Facebook that she and her husband were starting a Couch to 5k program which claims it will get you off the couch and running 3 miles in 2 months of training. This sounded perfect for me.
I'm on Week 4 now (of the 9-week program), which is getting more intense (and making me sweat more than I'd care to). Instead of pushing myself to get under 14 minutes a mile (be kind. I'm a very new runner), and then walking for the next 10 or so minutes, I'm now at 2 miles in 29 minutes. According to the site, a beginner should expect to be able to do a 5k in about 24 minutes so that will be my goal.
About the same time I started this program, I found out a very good family friend discovered she had breast cancer which had spread quite far and she was going into surgery. The surgery went pretty well and she is now in recovery. My grandmother and aunt have also both been affected by breast cancer, have gone through surgery and are now survivors. I've been wanting to do something meaningful to support breast cancer education and research for a long time now and so it only seemed to make sense that if I was working toward being able to run a 5k that I should do a Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure.
There's one here in Omaha on Oct. 3, which means I'd essentially have plenty of time to be ready for this if I can keep it going. Though, I haven't yet registered because the idea of me running an actual 5k by myself scares me quite a bit. While I feel like I could get pretty confident on the treadmill, I'm worried about what will happen when I no longer have a TV in front of me to focus on.
Do any runners out there have any advice for how to easily transition from indoor to outdoor running? Any advice on preparing yourself mentally for running a race? Any and all advice or words of encouragement are welcome!
2 comments:
So proud of you for doing this for yourself and for the cause. I was in the same boat a few months ago and was worried about runnning outdoors after running on the treadmill at the gym. Although everyone is different, I advise checking out "mapmyrun.com" (I think is the site) and find already mapped out routes in your area so you a) know how far you're running and can time yourself and b) don't have to come up with a route on your own. Then just pick a time of day that isn't super hot, or super trafficy (I hated running around 5-6 p.m. when everyone was coming home and could see me running...eek!) so that there's nothing to keep you from not doing it. And music. Good music is a must!
I know you can do it because you are determined! Good luck! Can't wait to hear your progress reports :)
Thanks for the tips! I'll look into that site for sure once I've decided I'm ready to take my running outdoors!
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