Big Ow

I really didn't feel like waking up this morning. Probably, this was due to the beer I drank with dinner last night - I was out cold by 9:30!

Woke up later this AM than on Tuesday... that extra 15 minutes of sleep between 5:30 and 5:45 really didn't do very much.

Once I got out on the track with my housemate and her youngest daughter (elder sister, Sarah, stayed in bed with a sore throat) I immediately felt better. Isabel (the younger daughter) has very short legs, however, which could prove to be an issue in keeping up once I finally start building stamina.

As Andrea (my housemate) said, the first real test will be getting up early on Saturday morning - which should be our next scheduled run. I think aiming for 7 or 8 am will be our best shot. Then we can sleep in on Sunday.

DAY 2 REPORT

wake-up time 6 am
1 mile total (plus walking to and from track)


Half circuit of track walking, half circuit of jogging
4 revolutions of track

Legs - feeling a little jelly-ish
Lungs - much better than Tuesday, despite the heat and smog
Stomach - perfect!
Sweat level - high!

Overall impression - not too bad for someone who felt like taking a hammer to her alarm clock this morning.

Little Ow

One day post workout I am feeling a little "ow" in my legs.

My housemate is claiming that as a 40 year old, her pain is worse than mine.

Regardless, tomorrow morning - onwards, upwards!

6am wakeup though... none of this 5:30 stuff is necessary

Imelda Marcos Eat Your Heart Out

Had a very spur of the moment decision yesteday (really months in the making) that I needed to get fit. Immediately.

And that the best way to do so was to start running.




Insanity really.





I used to be fast. And by "used to be" - I mean something like 15 years ago when I was 7 or 8. One of my earliest memories is of winning a foot race at my dad's company's annual bbq. I won a inflatable beach ball that I think is still lurking around in my parents' basement somewhere.

Yet sometime soon thereafter, I became slow. Tortoise slow. Field day during elementary school coming in last at every race slow.

And I hated it because I knew I would never be fast again no matter what I did. I've no idea why I just assumed a life of constant slowness, but eventually, it became a mantra for me. I am not athletic. I am reasonably smart, adequately funny, an excellent cook, a good person generally. BUT I AM NOT ATHLETIC.

I don't think I will ever become a true runner. I have family members that have the runner's look - tall, slim, with feet that aren't as flat as boards. But that isn't the point. I have made a vow to start and not to give up for at least 6 weeks.

Which brings me to yesterday. And, more importantly, yesterday's shoes.

New Balance has a store right across the street from my office. Being lazy I decided to give it a try for new shoes. And maybe some socks. Oh and pants.

$254 later... I had all three - plus the knowledge that I am not overly or underly pronated and that I have relatively narrow feet.

My housemate and her kids thought I was crazy but they agreed to go running with me this morning following the couch to 10k plan from the Birmingham Track Association.

The internet is a grand thing. A girl in Canada can follow a running program from an amateur athletics group in Britain.

DAY 1 REPORT

wake-up time 5:45
1 mile total (plus walking to and from track)


Half circuit of track walking, half circuit of jogging
4 revolutions of track

Legs - not too bad
Lungs - definite shortness of breath towards the end and a bit of wheezing
Stomach - stitch in side

Overall impression - can't wait to do this again in two days! I feel surprisingly happy and not too exhausted.