Couch to 5K
Alright. I have to confess. I've been keeping secrets. Oh, such secrets! You have no IDEA!! Okay, maybe not that melodramatic, but I do have one secret to reveal: I've been running again. Earth shaking, I know, but believe it or not, I have maintained a consistent running regimen for the past eight weeks. You see, Kyle's death really shook us up, and reminded me emphatically that the future is uncertain. Anna was pretty concerned about me, because I've had a fairly sedentary job for a while now, and had managed to get pretty badly out of shape. She was understandably worried about the possibility of me getting older and maybe dying of heart disease or something in my forties. So, she patiently lobbied in favor of this beginner's running program called Couch to 5K. I finally agreed to do it, bought some New Balance running shoes, and got started back in May. It was amazingly easy! I tell you what, I've tried excercising before, and failed to maintain it with consistency because it hurt too much, and I was pretty miserable. I think the problem was mainly ego. I would push too hard and try to progress too fast, and my body would rebel and that would be the end of that. This program is different. It starts off gradual, with timed intervals of jogging and walking. Because they're timed, you get the psychological edge of being able to say to yourself, "I've only got to run for one minute, and then I can walk for a bit." It's measured, with a clearly defined beginning and ending, and that really helps, especially at first. You gradually increase your running times, and decrease your walking times as the weeks progress. The goal of course is to get to the point where, at the end of 9 weeks or thereabouts, you're running 3 miles at a pop, three days a week. It's really pretty cool. I've lost fifteen pounds so far (I'd like to lose another fifteen before it's all said and done), my clothes are fitting better, and I'm feeling great. I've just started Week Four. I know, Week Four, in eight weeks? I had to repeat some weeks because around the end of Week Three, I developed a nasty case of runner's knee. I treated it, and kept at the level I was at, even though it was fairly painful for awhile. I spent week four and five rehabilitating my legs, with lots of ice packs and some special knee strengthening exercises I remembered. Finally, by week six, I was able to progress. I stayed at the Week Three level for another week to simply focus on regaining my stamina, and strengthening my legs, and this week, I have progressed to Week Four. This week, you jump from running a total of 9 minutes, to a total of 16!! It's quite a shock to the system, believe me. I've been making it, although the last five minutes are pretty rough. It's just so cool to be progressing to an actual level of physical fitness. This means, that by the end of the summer, I should be in excellent shape, and moving towards actual performance running. I'll be in great shape by the time we finish deputation, which will greatly enhance mine, and my wife's, stamina, so when we do get to Africa, our bodies will be better able to resist disease and injury. We'll probably still get sick, but this will reduce the duration and severity of the sickness. The neat thing is, the guys have been imitating us, and running "races" out in the back yard. Once I get to a level where they're not totally running circles around me, I'm going to start them on some regular calisthenics to establish some good fitness habits early in life. This way, they'll stay healthy all of their life, and hopefully won't find themselves nursing bum knees and needing to lose weight at 34 like their old man.