Running For The Finish Line

On Monday I started running again. It’s been…awhile…since I last tried running. But with just four or five pounds (depending on how much salt I had the night before) between me and my goal weight, it’s time to turn up the heat. Or generate some heat – by working out.

I had no idea where to start. I felt tired as I walked into the gym, so I set my couch-to-5k app to week one. I began the five minute warm up walk, and realized that I needed to increase the speed on the treadmill, because I wanted to go faster. That was a good first sign.

Then when the first run came, I turned up the music, increased my speed, and just ran. But just as I started to get in the groove, the app alerted me that it was time to walk again. Thirty seconds was far too short – I was actually angry at being told to stop!

So I quickly switched programs to week two, skipping the warm up walk and getting right into the first run. Again, the run seemed short, but I decided to get through the entire set. I was still sweating plenty near the end of the set, yet had enough energy to walk an additional five minutes at a fast pace after the app announced I was done. Total distance? 2.6 miles in 45 minutes. Not bad at all.

I’m planning to run again today, but I’m not sure if I want to continue with week two or jump straight to week three. Week two was enough to make me sore the next day, but didn’t feel like a strong challenge. But maybe easing myself into running again will keep me from being frustrated at it getting too hard too fast and quitting?

I’m still not sure what I’ll do when I get there this morning. Will report back on how it goes!

Edited to add: 
I did week three this morning instead of week two. And I still had no trouble! Woo-hoo!