Teaching An Old Dog New Tricks--And I'm the Old Dog, Not KJ!

OK, so after completing grad school I felt like I needed a new challenge. Why I always feel I must challenge myselfy, I'm not sure. Over the last year, making exercise a priority was not in the picture. I've always admired people who ran--not that I'd ever want to do a marathon--but it's the great feeling that they experience after running, a way to release stress, and a way to get in shape.

So this summer I read a book on running. I've attempted running in the past, but one day of it was all I could take. I really convinced myself I couldn't run--I knew it was a mental thing, but couldn't get past it. So, I thought I needed to learn more. I found a book that inspired me.

I've followed the plan, beginning with my week of walking and this week started the running plan. The plan is a gradual plan that will build up to 30 minutes of running after 10 weeks. So this week it's walk 4 minutes, run 2 minutes, repeating they cycle for a total of 30 minutes. After the first day, it was only 15 seconds before I looked at my watch wondering when the 2 minutes running would end! Today, I made it to 1 minute and 45 seconds before I looked at my watch. I'm getting there!

Things that have made a difference: invested in a good pair of running shoes at a running store (so worth the money), reading about it so I could have a deeper understanding of what I was about to embark on and how to prevent injury, taking KJ with (if I get an injury it'll be due to tripping over her leash!), going early in the morning, knowing that if Kole can do this for cross country--surely I can support him also!

Please don't ask me how many miles I'm running as my focus is on amount of time. I'm looking forward to cooler weather--why I decided to start this the hottest time of the year, I'm not sure--maybe it's one more challenge!