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.