Remember that song? I have not run so far away, but I did just run. For the first time since April 3. Lightrunner is 4 weeks old now and I am ready. I have been mentally ready for a while but now I am really ready. I'm not just going out there blind though, it's been a really long time since I have run at all and a REALLY long time since I have done consistent regular running. So, I'm following a plan by Jeff Galloway that Runner's World just happened to tweet about in July. I think 4 days before I gave birth but I could be wrong. I'm not coming back from an injury, but I've taken a lot of time off running so I thought it would be a good idea to follow it.
I decided last night that today was the day. When I fed Lightrunner at 2 am I said today is the day. My plan had been to feed him at 5, get up at 5:30 eat breakfast and go. But he woke up at 4 so I fed him then and went back to bed at 4:30. My alarm went off at 5:30 and it was SO hard to get up. But today was the day. So I got up at 5:50, got my running clothes on before anything else, ate a quick breakfast and headed outside.
The plan called for 15 minutes of running-- 15 repetitions of the same pattern of ... 15 seconds of running and 45 seconds of walking. I am so glad I did this outside and not the treadmill. Not only because I got to be up and outside before the world, but because my treadmill would take 15 seconds to respond to speed changes! The first run I did I said there's no way I can do this. And by this, I mean, there's now way I can just run 15 SECONDS. I just wanted to GO. But I stuck to the plan and by the end of the 15 minutes I realized it was the best thing for me. Instead of going out there and winging it and being hugely disappointed because I couldn't go far or long enough, I had a specific time that I could do and each running interval left me wanting MORE. I didn't feel disappointed in myself or that I'd never get back to running. I felt like I could have gone on longer. The 45 seconds of walking felt like an eternity and I never once felt like I needed a walking break. This plan is geared for preventing injury, but it's also great for boosting confidence if you're a little unsure about starting up again.
It took all of my resolve to not just keep on running. And I think that's a really good thing.
3 comments:
OMG - Lightrunner! LOVE IT!
Also, you're an inspiration. Today is the day for both of us to start kicking butt and taking names. You've already done it! WOO!
Yay! So, this reminds me, how do you go about keeping track of 15 seconds and 45 seconds?
My garmin has an interval setting. I was able to have it beep so I didn't have to keep looking at my watch.
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