“Run like hell and get the agony over with.” — Clarence DeMar
Last month, I wrote about my new running program. My goal was to progress steadily from being a complete couch potato to being able to run for thirty minutes straight over eighty days. The idea was that I would go out for thirty minutes, alternate between running and walking, and slowly add running time and subtract walking time until there wasn't any walking time left. I drew up a schedule for how quickly I would convert walking minutes to running minutes, so that after eighty days there wouldn't be any walking minutes left and I'd be running for thirty straight minutes.
Well, it turns out that I didn't stick to my schedule for adding running minutes. I was on track for the first five weeks or so, and it was a renewed challenge every time I upped the pace. But one day, maybe three weeks ago, I had reached the two and a half minutes when I supposed to go back to walking, and I just didn't want to. So I kept running, and that day I added five extra running minutes, and never consulted my schedule again. From that point I pushed myself to do as much running as possible. This wasn't without consequence, in that I got blisters on both insteps, but that was as much from wearing the wrong socks as anything else, and they've mostly cleared up.
So anyway, after that point I added a few running minutes every time I went out. A few days ago I ran for twenty-two minutes, then walked for three, then ran for five more, so when I set out yesterday evening I was hoping that I'd be able to reach my goal of thirty straight minutes, and I did!
I realize we're all pressed for time, but I'd really encourage anyone who's trying to balance work, family, and elearning to consider doing something active like this. Spending just thirty minutes didn't really knock any gaping holes in my day, and the increased energy I've felt has more than made up for the time I've spent. Moreover, my family tells me that that I'm less stressed and disagreeable since I've been running, and that's important considering how much I need their support to accomplish everything I've set out to do.
So the next question is where I go from here. I've lost a little weight doing this, although not a whole lot, just ten pounds or so. I plan to keep running thirty minutes at least every other day, while doing a better job of watching how much I eat, something I've also tried to do during this period of time. It's really good motivation to pass up that snack when you know you're going to have to carry it around with you the next time you run! Hopefully with a few months of that I'll have gotten rid of enough excess baggage that I can just worry about maintenance. I certainly hope so — I can't imagine too many people would listen to a porky doctor of health education!
Next up, I look at another way to deliver distance learning.