I have always deep down inside fancied myself as a runner. Not a marathon runner. But someone who can run 5 or 10km without too much trouble. Where this has come from I do not know. I have never been the sporty type or come from a sporty family. I go to the gym to maintain a decent level of strength and fitness and so I do not end up one of those old ladies whose can’t stand up straight and look much older than they actually are.
The reality is totally the opposite. Whenever I try to run for more than a few hundred metres at a time, I can’t continue, either my legs feel like lead, or my lungs feel like they are going to burst out of my chest.
The most I have ever run without stopping on the treadmill at the gym is 500m. I managed that 3 or 4 times only. But then something happened, I can’t remember what, and I stopped trying to go further and gave up.
I have started the Couch 2 5K program many times but I think the furtherest I got was week 3.
So I thought maybe it is the treadmill. I have heard people say they can run outdoors but not on a treadmill. I live near a large park with lots of paths but I never found the motivation to try running outside.
COVID19 changed this. With not being able to go to the gym and with not having a commute this was the perfect time to try running outside.
I am not a morning person and have always exercised in the afternoon/evening so I decided to use what was my afternoon commute time to go for a walk or run.
I started off slowly, and walked the first day. Then the next time I jogged for a bit and walked a lot. 2 or 3 times a week. And that is where I am still at 10 weeks later. Some jogging but mostly walking. For some reason I just can’t run more than a few hundred metres at a time.
So I have now come to the conclusion that I am not meant to be a runner after all and that’s okay with me. There are still many other ways to obtain cardio fitness. I think my knees would prefer this too. I just wish I knew where the idea that I could be a runner came from. I guess I will never know.
Anyway I will continue to spend my afternoon commute time a few afternoons a week walking around the park. You never know I may throw in a little jog every now and then.
Ohhhh man, I am starting C25k again …up to week 2. This is the first real time doing it outside though…I did have some success in the olden days almost finishing the program on a treadmill, and then a couple of half arsed attempts to do it outside …but I feel like I am giving it a good go this time (and Andrew is doing it with me, so Inhave a buddy). I feel the quitting will only happen if I get to that “yeah old lady, you ‘re just not a runner” stage haha. We are slotting it into our 2 mornings we’ve been doing HIIT for the past 6 months, and also parkrun day, so at least we have habit on our side this time. And it’s easy for Andrew. Sigh. But, I have never had that “you’re a runner” feeling, so my goal is to PB at parkrun and then probably go back to being a walker haha. Yay for walking.
Well done Lisa. I hope you do get that ‘I’m a runner’ feeling at some stage.