Sunday, January 20, 2008

Somewhere Between the Couch and a 5k

A few weeks ago I got a membership to the municipal rec center, which is just down the street from our house, so I could stop using sub-freezing temperatures as an excuse not to exercise. I didn't want to embark on yet another series of "New Year Resolutions" that are dead before February, so instead the girl and I decided we want to run a 5k race on Mother's Day. Now I'm using the Couch to 5k Running Plan to train for it. So far, so good. Nothing else seems to improve my mood and general well-being more than regular exercise and now that I'm doing it to feel good and with a goal of something other than losing that same boring 10 pounds I'm always trying to get rid of, it's something I look forward to rather than a chore.
I'm susceptible to shin splints so I need to work into it gradually. There is plenty of time to work up to it by Mother's Day, so I'm keeping to the plan and not pushing myself to do more even when I feel like I could. I even found a Couch to 5K podcast. It's all techno-y tunes, which is really not my thing, but it's still kind of fun to run to and I like that the guy who put the podcast together decided to start running again when he turned 43. I'll be of that same vintage in about six weeks, so it's nice to know I'm not the only one.

2 comments:

Heidi said...

congrats on your goal. you will find that running a 5k is a lot easier than you might think. you'll be pumped with adrenaline and the passing scenery makes you move your feet faster than on a treadmill.

Pam said...

Thanks! I hope you're right. Now I kind of feel like I run "better" on the treadmill because if I don't move when it does I'll end up with my face planted into it. Then again, when it's 23 degrees and breezy out (like right now) there's not much chance I'm going to take it out onto the pavement to test the theory.