C25K

first things first - i am not a runner.  i am too heavy on top and too lazy down below. but as i want to live the best life possible and the healthiest life possible (apart from the white wine and occasional inspirational beverage) i am doing my bit to keep on moving.

and part of this commitment to keeping on moving is to run. after all i see freaks out on the street doing it all the time so how hard can it be.......

well, i'm not sure yet, as i am still in practising.  i am doing a couch to five k, or a C25K for those who are in the know.

i had been doing this at the gym up until christmas, when i decided that i needed to go back to basics and start from scratch and in order to give dave the opportunity to exercise more, i set about finding a treadmill to hire.  now the treadmill would have costed 20 bucks a week - the price of our combined gym memberships - so it made sense to bring it in house given dave's crazy work life.  the rental process was a funny one, they wanted 5 referees who didn't share the same address.  really five - and they rang four of them in one day and having one of my referees tell them that i was ok, apart from just coming out of jail, was my win and the rental companies loss.  the person who very kindly gave me this glowing reference had a treadmill that was taking up too much space on their verandah and now it is in my care and the C25K has begun again.

in the past 5 weeks, i have done basic running and building up to an 8 minute run, 5 minute walk, 8 minute run.  for me that was fucking scary, but after a couple of goes i attempted it and managed it quite easily. after this run, it's a 20 minute stint. really, 20 minutes, that was just too much and i had to question why on earth i was doing this.  oh that's right, to live a healthier life... as you can see below, it clearly says jog for 20 minutes.

well, realising that i had this barrier to overcome i went to my trusty boss, Luke - friend, great boss, psychologist and now running coach and runner himself.  i had to have a heart to heart about it.  As usual, his great advice was forthcoming.  evo, take it slow.  remember cliff young- yes Luke. well what was he famous for - marathons Luke. and what did he do - he shuffled Luke.  well there you go, don't go fast, go real slow and remember, it's not the distance, it's the time you are doing.

WOW - thanks Luke, that was a great perspective.

So, this was a great piece of advice and along with a piece of advice i got from my pod mate, i set out today to do the 20 minutes.
Advice 1 - go slow
Advice 2 - the mind gives up long before the body.
With these 2 pieces of advice in mind, off i went on the trusty treadmill with a momentary stop to stretch after about 3 minutes and as my legs and mind eased into this, it was quite obvious that i could run for 20 minutes and to remind me of this, i made a sign to stick on the wall which says the date, and 20 minute run.  it was an achievement for me. not sure what's next on the C25K, but i am feeling confident that i will be able to take it on.