Triumph !

No , it's not what you think.
No marathons for me - i am a snail remember ?

I went to Metro Walk & Run last week and bought myself these...

Women's Saucony Pro Grid Triumph 5

SO SO Comfortable . And sleek, too.
I love them .
And i am not a sports shoe gal by nature so that is saying something.

I want to go running right now just looking at them !
but i can't it's a rest day .
Tomorrow , tomorrow ...

Stats

They ( the Running experts ) say it is useful to keep track of your Stats e.g. progress by keeping a running log with various information to be able to track your (hopefully ) gradual metamorphosis from slow-moving earth-bound caterpillar into a graceful and free-flying butterfly.

So , i have started to write my daily run / cross-training in a notebook.
i must warn you , Dear Reader , my progress will be painfully slow -
i am the type of personality that usually goes in both barrels blasting , running out of ammo shortly thereafter and beating a hasty retreat which of course leads to the inevitable surrender not long after that.

I am DETERMINED not to do that this time so it is SLOW and STEADY - the whole way.

Here are my embarrassing , yet still strangely hopeful statistics for my first week -

Day One :
8:30 am - 90 degrees -Sunny

Stretch for 10 minutes
Walk for 15 minutes
Run for 1 minute , walk for 1 minute X 5
Walk 15 minutes for cooldown

Day Two :
3:00 pm 95 degrees- sunny/humid

stretch for 10 minutes
walk for 10 minutes
run for 1 minute/ walk for 1 minute x 7
walk for 10 minutes cooldown

Day Three :
3:00 pm 95 degrees - sunny

No run today -

stretch 5 minutes
Bike - 2.5 miles
1 uphill stretch

Day Four :
7:30 am - 85 degrees- overcast

stretch - 10 mins.
walk 10 minutes
run/walk 2 minutes x 4
walk 10 mins.

6 pm -
1/2 mile walk w/ sprints

Day Five :
8:00 am - 85 degrees- sunny

stretch 10 mins
2 mile walk with sporadic jogs to elevate heart rate

7:30 pm
2.5 mile walk

Day Six :

Lifecycle 10 minutes - uphill setting
yoga 1/2 hour
walk 2 miles

Day Seven :

I AM NOT GOD _ I DO NOT REST TODAY !!!

8:30 am - 85 degrees - Sunny
4 mile walk with a friend /brisk pace

Feeling great !
I am energized by doing something everyday - even if minimal.
I have some minor aches and pains but i am careful to rest after my runs
and take ibuprofen to offset any damage.
I can definitely feel some shin and knee issues brewing if i am not careful so i am going to continue at a snails pace for now.


and that's right where i want to be....

I really just started to run on a whim, more or less.

I have a neighbor and close friend who is a supreme athlete . She used to play Soccer professionally before having 5 kids and moving to the suburbs. She is still in incredible shape ( chasing after all of those kids helps undoubtedly ) but i knew she was still 'training' to stay fit .
I decided to ask her how she did it.
"I run everyday " she said.
For months now that phrase played itself over and over in my head - like a diabolical mantra.

I initially shrugged it off as something i was neither interested in nor capable of.
Isn't that how all new endeavors begin? A perverse fascination turns into something you actually want to do .

Well , for me anyway that's how it started . I just couldn't shake the image of myself running like the wind - hair flying behind me like some kind of banshee , the wind in my lungs , blood coursing through my tired old veins and a strange kind of calm flowing through my body - the kind i was missing and didn't know how to get back.

So , i would try running. No promises , no regrets.

This time i would take it slow and steady . Start with baby steps and go from there , little by little . Everyday . Just take it nice and easy.

If there is one thing i have learned from being a mother it is that you cannot rush things. Everything worth doing takes time . From giving birth to a fitness regime - it cannot be rushed . You are in for a lot of pain if you think otherwise.

I , being the over-reaching , ever- curious student of life always need to research thoroughly whatever interests me. This simultaneously annoys and/ or impresses everyone who knows me - depending on their mood and disposition.
Be that as it may , it is the way i do things. Always , ad nauseum.

So , i am reading everything i can on running , in the hopes that i will do this the right way ( if there is such a thing ) and avoid injury and failure by doing too much too soon or bad form or whatever. Running apparently is a lot more complicated than just throwing on some shoes and running out the door. I have my work cut out for me.

I have read that to turn an activity into a habit takes approximately 40 days . Anything you do for less time has a likely chance of running its course ( pun intended) and fizzling out . Anyone who knows me can relate to this phenomenon. I try on many of my interests only to leave them abandoned by the roadside after deciding - A > This is not for me , B> I am no good at this , really or C,> i like it ! ok , now what else can i
try?

I am an infamous Queen of the U.F.O. ( unfinished object) and it is something that i am not proud of , but there it is , the truth. In all of its ugly toadness.

So run i will . The question is will i keep at it ?

Stay tuned , folks.

I am going to give it my best shot...