C25K!

Summer is a great time for reflection, thinking about what you'd like to accomplish and setting goals. One goal that I have been working toward this summer is completing the C25K program!

Running has never been my thing, primarily due to the terrible side stitches I have always been cursed with - and I mean always. I remember quitting gymnastics at a very young age because the conditioning running we did hurt so much. It's been a bummer, because I've always wanted to be a runner. I'd watch others run and think "Man, I wish I could do that!" Throughout junior high, high school, college, etc, etc, I would occasionally try to pick it up but it never worked out. That is not to say that other fitness routines didn't work for me - I could keep up with an intense elliptical workout forever. Just not running!

Finally I said enough, I'm going to do this thing! Enter C25K, short for Couch to 5K. It is a program designed to help non-runners gradually build up to running 5K through a combination of timed walks and runs. I use the iphone app, which I really like because you can play your own music through it and it alerts you when you should switch from walking to running and vice versa... plus it's FREE! I must say I'm really impressed with it. It's amazing how far I've come in only five weeks, from struggling to run repeated 60 second intervals to running for 20 minutes straight!

Of course an app alone won't get you off the couch, so I've employed a few other motivational tasks. This one's on my fridge:

There were several charts already available online, but some were variations on the program I'm using and some were, well, ugly, so I created this one to keep track of my progress (if you'd like one of these for yourself, there's a clean copy at the bottom of this post you can snag!). I'll confess that I really look forward to getting to cross off another box after each workout - somehow it substantially increases the feelings of accomplishment! I also assume my hubs would notice if the chart just "disappeared" one day, so it is a small measure of accountability.

Another motivational tool was that of financial investment - got me my first pair of REAL running shoes:

Love these shoes! I went to an actual running specialty store to go through the whole fitting process, which was pretty neat. I hesitated to do this - I'm the kind of gal that likes to do my research, go into the store, find what I want, try it on, buy it (preferably with a coupon), and leave. But, as a coach I know firsthand what happens when you don't take the effort to get the right equipment; and as a coach it would be pretty hypocritical to lecture parents about the importance of making the right investment and then not follow my own advice.

Five weeks down - more than halfway there!

Just right click on the picture below and save. Good luck, spud!