Don't believe everything you're told..
I was really hoping to start this blog out with a super excited entry about all the working out I did already by Tuesday and how excited I am about it all this week but... pretty much the exact opposite is true. Usually Monday is the day I really put in some work at the gym because I like to start the week strong but that's not exactly how yesterday went.
I've been running exclusively on a treadmill at the gym for the past couple of weeks. I am having trouble finding places to run outside where I don't have to worry about strangers stopping or running me over. Although I have a large dog, due to health issues she can't go running with me and I don't feel safe enough to go out on my own. I really don't mind running on the treadmill either. A lot of people think it is very boring but I can't say that's a complaint I have. It actually keeps me encouraged to keep going because I can so easily influence my pace. Unless I slow the speed down or step off the treadmill, I have to keep up whatever pace I set it on. Even when I'm exhausted, I can usually still get another minute or two out of myself because I'm too stubborn to shut it off yet. I also always have my music or audiobooks with me so boredom is not an issue either. I push myself to get better when I use a treadmill.
But someone once somewhere told me that running outside is so much easier because it's so much less boring.
Well, yesterday I finally tried it for the first time since I started my training and let me tell you one thing. Whoever that person was, they are a LIAR. That ish was hard!
I'm almost embarrassed to admit this but I'm in the very beginning stages of my training and it is going very very slowly. I can usually run 2 miles now at the gym and about a week ago was the very first time ever that I was able to run a whole 5k there without a walking break. That's 3.11 miles. I've always struggled with running and that was a pretty big accomplishment for me. I've done several races before with my mom (5k and 10k) but I was never really able to run more than a mile at a time, if even that (I didn't have a tracker with me at any of those).
I stopped on the way home from work yesterday at a road that looped around back towards where I parked. I drove along it first to get an idea of the distance and it is 2 miles long. Hah. No problem. I run this regularly now at the gym. Or so I thought. About 2/3 of a mile in, I started struggling. Like I said - embarrassing. I manager to choke out one mile at a much slower pace than usual and then had to take a walking break. I didn't walk for long before I started to run again but then had to take another walking break before being able to run the last half mile.
That was not how I pictured my first run outside to go. I couldn't decide whether I wanted to run on the soft but uneven grass or the hard but even concrete. Neither one was really doing it for me. The air seemed harder to breathe and it was much warmer than I had expected it to be. Whine, whine, whine. :P
The race that encouraged me to start working out isn't until the fall so I still have a long time to prepare. But yesterday was a good lesson to learn. I will keep training at the gym because it is much safer at the moment and more convenient but I will definitely have to run outside regularly to get used to the differences.
Now that you know how much of a beginner I am, you're probably wondering why you should even bother with this blog in the first place. I'm not sure why to be honest. Just kidding. My immediate goal is that 5k for now but eventually I would really like to run a half marathon and marathon as well as trying a Tough Mudder again. I'm hoping this blog will help keep me motivated as well as show other people that total beginners and non-runners can do it too! You don't have to be born a runner!
Or so I hope. lol
Personally, I'm still waiting for the moment when I actually start enjoying the run. I've done it for about six weeks now at 3-5 times a week. I started out being absolutely miserable while I run. Now, while I seem to be able to draw the misery out over a longer distance (definitely an improvement!), I can't say I enjoy it any more than I did before. I am proud of myself when I finish. Any run is better than the couch surfing I'm used to. But I do very much hope I start to enjoy it a little more at least eventually.
That one teeny run (2.05 mi) is all I've done so far this week. I know it's only Tuesday but it's not at all how I have been doing the past six weeks. Work is rough and tiring and I guess it's just one of those weeks. Maybe tomorrow I'll be able to push through and get motivated. Unlikely though since we are invited to dinner with some friends of ours. I would be excited if it wasn't for a sad reason: them moving to another state too far to easily visit over a weekend.
I guess that's it for right now. I'll hopefully be back soon with better fitness news. I'll leave you with my current reading in case you'd like any pointers. Both of them are from and about runners and running.
- current blog reading: shecanandshedid.com
- current book reading: A beautiful work in progress - Mirna Valerio
- Chabela
I've been running exclusively on a treadmill at the gym for the past couple of weeks. I am having trouble finding places to run outside where I don't have to worry about strangers stopping or running me over. Although I have a large dog, due to health issues she can't go running with me and I don't feel safe enough to go out on my own. I really don't mind running on the treadmill either. A lot of people think it is very boring but I can't say that's a complaint I have. It actually keeps me encouraged to keep going because I can so easily influence my pace. Unless I slow the speed down or step off the treadmill, I have to keep up whatever pace I set it on. Even when I'm exhausted, I can usually still get another minute or two out of myself because I'm too stubborn to shut it off yet. I also always have my music or audiobooks with me so boredom is not an issue either. I push myself to get better when I use a treadmill.
But someone once somewhere told me that running outside is so much easier because it's so much less boring.
Well, yesterday I finally tried it for the first time since I started my training and let me tell you one thing. Whoever that person was, they are a LIAR. That ish was hard!
I'm almost embarrassed to admit this but I'm in the very beginning stages of my training and it is going very very slowly. I can usually run 2 miles now at the gym and about a week ago was the very first time ever that I was able to run a whole 5k there without a walking break. That's 3.11 miles. I've always struggled with running and that was a pretty big accomplishment for me. I've done several races before with my mom (5k and 10k) but I was never really able to run more than a mile at a time, if even that (I didn't have a tracker with me at any of those).
I stopped on the way home from work yesterday at a road that looped around back towards where I parked. I drove along it first to get an idea of the distance and it is 2 miles long. Hah. No problem. I run this regularly now at the gym. Or so I thought. About 2/3 of a mile in, I started struggling. Like I said - embarrassing. I manager to choke out one mile at a much slower pace than usual and then had to take a walking break. I didn't walk for long before I started to run again but then had to take another walking break before being able to run the last half mile.
That was not how I pictured my first run outside to go. I couldn't decide whether I wanted to run on the soft but uneven grass or the hard but even concrete. Neither one was really doing it for me. The air seemed harder to breathe and it was much warmer than I had expected it to be. Whine, whine, whine. :P
The race that encouraged me to start working out isn't until the fall so I still have a long time to prepare. But yesterday was a good lesson to learn. I will keep training at the gym because it is much safer at the moment and more convenient but I will definitely have to run outside regularly to get used to the differences.
Now that you know how much of a beginner I am, you're probably wondering why you should even bother with this blog in the first place. I'm not sure why to be honest. Just kidding. My immediate goal is that 5k for now but eventually I would really like to run a half marathon and marathon as well as trying a Tough Mudder again. I'm hoping this blog will help keep me motivated as well as show other people that total beginners and non-runners can do it too! You don't have to be born a runner!
Or so I hope. lol
Personally, I'm still waiting for the moment when I actually start enjoying the run. I've done it for about six weeks now at 3-5 times a week. I started out being absolutely miserable while I run. Now, while I seem to be able to draw the misery out over a longer distance (definitely an improvement!), I can't say I enjoy it any more than I did before. I am proud of myself when I finish. Any run is better than the couch surfing I'm used to. But I do very much hope I start to enjoy it a little more at least eventually.
That one teeny run (2.05 mi) is all I've done so far this week. I know it's only Tuesday but it's not at all how I have been doing the past six weeks. Work is rough and tiring and I guess it's just one of those weeks. Maybe tomorrow I'll be able to push through and get motivated. Unlikely though since we are invited to dinner with some friends of ours. I would be excited if it wasn't for a sad reason: them moving to another state too far to easily visit over a weekend.
I guess that's it for right now. I'll hopefully be back soon with better fitness news. I'll leave you with my current reading in case you'd like any pointers. Both of them are from and about runners and running.
- current blog reading: shecanandshedid.com
- current book reading: A beautiful work in progress - Mirna Valerio
- Chabela
Comments
Post a Comment