I Can Actually Run? Amazing!

Design by Dolly Mama

I've been delinquent in reporting. I did half okay on the food journal on livestrong.com but I did pretty good working out. I dove right in!

Tuesday and Wednesday I made it to the gym and I walked for 10 minutes and then walked and ran for 20 more minutes. I followed a routine that my friend Kimmi the runner taught me. She got it from a running website that takes you from couch potato to runner. It works amazingly! I warm up by walking and then I run for 60 seconds and then I walk 90 seconds. I continue doing that until the end of the 30 minute session, and then I do the cool down.

What is amazing about this is that I, me, the total non-runner, can run. You don't understand how amazing this is. I have NEVER been a runner. NEVER!

I will never forget this (and never is a very strong word). In first grade my class was choosing people to run in the relay race for Field Day. When the teacher asked about me the whole class said, almost in unison, "NO!" I remember looking at my very good friend Carl, who also lived across the street and was a really good runner. even then at age 7, and not even he defended me. I felt devastated and angry. I was only 7 years old, I had just turned 7 in February, because I remember it was that Spring. I also remember feeling so ashamed that no one thought I could run. Even though I wasn't chosen to run the relay race we all still had to practice relay running in P.E.

Our P.E. teacher was Ms. Washington and she was tough! She was so athletic and I realized this, even at such a young age. Her arms were well defined. (funny, the things you remember as a child) She always wore a track suit and she had a short afro. I think she wore either small stud earrings or small hoops and she was mean. Not mean in an evil way, more like mean in a strict way.

Ms. Washington had us practicing the relay race that same day that no one chose me and when it was my turn to run I decided that I was going to run harder than I had ever run before. I put my all into it and surprising to all, even me, I won my heat. It was hilarious. I shocked everyone. I remember feeling smug and very, "Ha!"

Ms. Washington just laughed and shook her head. (It was rare to see her laugh.) I'm sure she guessed what had happened. She knew the kids had said I couldn't run and that I was mad that I wasn't chosen to run. The funny thing is that I don't think it was so much that I wasn't chosen to run. It was the fact that they all said I was a "bad" runner that made me mad. I was determined to prove them wrong. WOW! I can't believe I was that way at that age already. I haven't changed much in that aspect.

After that day, even though I won my turn, I actually believed that I couldn't run. I never ran again. The only athletic things I ever did after that was throw the shot put in middle school. Yes, I did the shot put. I was also on the swim team, but I was terrible. Terrible! I got more out of being on the swim team than I gave. Being on the swim team taught me the different swim strokes and how to swim to compete. It was a good experience. And even though I threw the shot put and I was on the track team, I didn't run. I never really ran again. I think I may have given it a bit of a try in my late teens when I used to do aerobics every day.

So for me to start running now in my very very late 30s is very amazing. I can not believe how well that 60/90 technique works. The goal is to start walking less and to start running more. I will do 60/90 for a while until I can change to 90 seconds of running and 60 seconds of walking. It makes it doable! Then eventually one day I will run long periods of time. I would recommend it to anyone. It makes me feel like a runner for the first time in my life! If it can do that to me, the non-runner, it definitely works. It's worth trying!