Off to a rough start..training day 2

Well..I can see this is not going to be easy. All day I set off thinking I was headed to the gym for my second training day to run but after a full day of skiing yesterday, a night out for dinner and drinks and a morning massage and brunch, the day was shaping up to get away from me and I was finding excuses not to go running till tomorrow. As I decided to head out, I found out the gym was closing early today. Great. To run or wait till tomorrow? But as the old adage goes, "Don't put off to tomorrow what you can do today". So, what now?

As I was waiting to decide, life's usual interruptions began. A phone call for a playdate for the boys..and I can take Jayna in the jogger to run around the field track. Ok..that will work. But turns out the playdate wanted to come to us, so now a fast cleanup, vaccuum, a little yelling because "Mommy needs to run, hurry up!" and off to the track to sneak in the 30 minute run. But...nature was against me. As I set off with Jayna on her bike with training wheels, I realized quickly this was not going to be easy. She needed help pushing through the melting puddles of snow, hills that were too steep to head up, and then the bike was having issues. "All Mommy needs is to run for one minute!" After 30 seconds of my run, (which was timing on my phone and couldn't see the screen very well) I had to push her up yet another hill. I could see this wasn't going to be how I expected. Was it worth my effort? Time was ticking, I had to finish running, take a quick shower before the playdate and try to do this right! Surprisingly I didn't give up although poor Jayna could tell I was so frustrated and kept taking it out on her, the poor girl. "Mommy, just run and I will walk my bike to catch up to you"...Guilt trip, "Don't worry Jayna, I will push you up the hill first". So, I spent the next 30 minutes somewhat running, walking, and pushing her on her bike. To add to the plan gone bad, I kept hitting snow patches along the path that we couldn't really run through or let alone get her bike across. So, add carrying a preschooler and little bike to the workout. Then, I am not kidding, a huge tree was knocked down blocking the path, so now I found myself climbing over the downed tree and hoisting the bike across while Jayna checked out the upturned roots. Is this really working or should we just turn around and head for the car? So, finally we hit a smoother pace as I embraced the moment and made it work for what it was...at least I was doing more running than walking and hopefully getting something out of this. Did I stick to my goal of 1 minute run and 2 minutes walk? I am not sure, but hopefully the extra effort, hills and determination to not quit despite the frustrations should count for something. By the time we made it to the car, I was surprised to see that I had actually been out there almost 35 minutes and think I did do better than I thought it would go. I don't know how fast I was running, but if sweat counts, I did ok for training day 2. Better something than nothing and hoping that next time will be better.

PS....Made it home and took a shower in the nick of time for the playdate. Jayna forgave me from being grumpy and frustrated. "Mommy, I love you even though you were getting mad!" Thank God for flexiblity and understanding..even to myself for a job done, even if it wasn't perfect.

Here I go!

Throughout most of my life, I have chased my weight with exercise and diets...but one type of exercise always eluded me...running. After going to my first NY marathon, I was completely inspired! How exciting to see so many people from all walks of life doing such an extraordinary feat. So, soon after, two friends and I joined the Road Runners in our quest to learn to run. With big hopes, I tried to become a runner. Fast forward a few weeks...failure. I couldn't even make it through the first lap of the track without getting out of breath and feeling like I was going to pass out. Quickly, I went back to other forms of exercise but secretly envied runners that I saw, wondering why  I couldn't do that.

A few years later, I  decided to try again. Something kept on drawing me back... A friend who ran a half marathon, another friend who looks so great after picking up running; so many people seem to be able to do this!  Last year, a few friends decided to run a 5K for charity. It was exciting at the starting line, everyone getting ready to run on this fall day. I thought if I run slowly, I could do this! But sadly, my friends were off and running and I pushed myself to run/walk. I made it to the end and felt so proud and inspired. Unfortunately, a few days later, my back and body gave in and didn't want to do this. So, again..another excuse to give up. Was this out of reach?

 So, I am going to turn 40 in a few weeks and would like to prove to myself that I am not too old to accomplish something new ( and loose some weight in the process). So I am hoping that keeping this blog will motivate me to keep trying to reach my goal...to run a 5K without having to walk. Maybe in the process, I will also learn to take things slowly and give myself time. I have always been one who expects results quickly and has high expectations so this will force me to be patient, take small steps and reach goals that may be less that what I thought I could do and in time, I will reach that goal of running across that finish line with pride and determination that I can do it despite my age and past failures.

So here I start....
day 1: Running at the gym since winter is still here, small goal of the day: run/walk for 30 minutes: 1 minute run, 2 minutes walk. Surprisingly, I could run one minute fairly well at a speed of 3.3mph....success for me since winter has put on another 10 thanks to the snow days that piled up on my hips.

Next step: Try to run again this weekevery other day for 1 min/ 2 min walk at 3.5 miles per hour. for 30 minutes.
Do I run each day or every other to start?