Running...a new beginning.
So, around Valentines Day, Jenn and I got to talking about losing weight. We both recognize the need for it, and also the need to be healthier. We both set up goals and took off. I weighed 220 lbs, and my goal was to get to 185. I have recently amended that to get down to 180. Jenn had her own goals, which I will not put that on here, since that is her business. J 30 lbs would be me under the obese category for the BMI. My life doesn’t revolve around that, but it is a goal.
So, after almost 2 months, I have managed to lose 10lbs, which is 33% of my adjusted goal. I am happy with that, but I want to do more.
I thought I would start running. A while back during the New York Marathon, I made a comment to Jenn’s sister and brother-in-law about me eventually running in the marathon some day. It was a bold statement, and I had not done anything about it since then. But lately, I have felt the need to start this, and here I am.
I ran for the first time on April 2nd, which was a Saturday, but as I normally do, I pushed myself too hard and was in a considerable amount of pain for 3-4 days. I still seem to think I am the athletic guy from about 10-15 years ago. Obviously, I am not. So I needed a different path. That or learn my own limitations at some point.
So, I bought a book called Running: Getting Started by Jeff Galloway. He talks about a run-walk-run method of getting used to running. It is a very beginner plan for people who have never ran, of at least have not ran in years.
It starts out very simple. Walk for five minutes to warm up. Then alternate 10 seconds of running, followed by 1-2 minutes of walking. Which I did for 10 minutes. Then walk 5-10 minutes to cool down. The reason I am doing it this way. There is a schedule in the book and each day I am increasing how far I go and am up to running for 15 seconds now, and things are going well.
Yesterday, I bought a pair of running shoes. Off to the races (so to speak)!