Is This Fun Yet?

I have never really been a "runner," but off and on over the years I have done some running. The problem has always been that I start, get the hard part over and then always seem to have a thousand excuses to not continue. I will tell you what, though, I now have greater respect for my son as I cheered him on in cross country and track. I would yell, "kick", "now", "you have to go" and so on. But, oh boy, I tell my legs to go….and, well, it is sad. I will leave it at that. I imagine I am a sight - glad I can't see myself doing this.

The start up this time has been much harder. My stamina is slowly coming back. Not that many years ago I simply pushed through and ignored the pain, but not this time. I have learned that I have to take my time and respect what my body is telling me. I have to remind myself that it took years to get this deconditioned, so I certainly can't expect to be even close to bouncing back as quickly as I used to several years ago. 

I have been at it now for about four to five weeks. I am doing a run/walk about 3 times a week. It started out as mostly walking with little running, but gradually shifting to more running. A run/walk means running for 2 minutes and then walk 2 for recovery and so on. You can set the intervals to your comfort level.  Over time, I can lengthen the intervals of running. 

You may ask, "Are you enjoying this?" Early on while actually running, I will be honest and say it wasn't much fun. Well, to be very honest, no, I didn't like it. However, I am enjoying making progress, and I think the distasteful aspect of this journey may be winding down.  Usually, anything that is worthwhile requires a lot of effort and work, so why would this be different. Happy running... 

Kevin