My 5K journey

We all have quirks about ourselves that aren't pleasing to think about or talk about. Don't deny it. We do. And I don't mind talking about *some* of mine. One of my biggest quirks is that, basically, I'm a lazy person. There, I said it. Like you already didn't know!

For some weird reason, the laziness didn't carry over into my job, but for the most part, I'd rather just sit and veg out than do anything strenuous (mentally or physically). I guess I'm a victim of the remote control/video game generation.

Conversely, I don't like to waste energy. When I'm sitting on the couch, doing nothing, essentially I'm wasting my life away. But it doesn't feel that way. Instead, it feels wasteful to exercise when I'm not really accomplishing anything. Riding a stationary bike or walking on a treadmill? Waste of my time.

I've said all of this to set up the fact that I hate to run. Hate it. I don't feel like I'm accomplishing anything when I'm running around a track or through my neighborhood. I leave from one place and end up back at that place, exerting energy and wasting time. It's not the same for all exercise. Running up and down a basketball court, in an attempt to throw that ball through a hoop, for some reason I feel like I'm accomplishing running. But running? Meh.

Not only does it feel like I'm not accomplishing anything, it feels terrible when I'm doing it. I hate not being able to breathe, and no matter how hard I concentrate, it doesn't take long before I sound like Darth Vader merging into an asthmatic, wheezing my way around the block. I hate that my legs scream at me with every step that I take. Why does it have to hurt? Isn't running supposed to be good for you?

I starting running several weeks ago when a buddy of mine asked me if I would run a 5K with him. I've run in the past. In high school, I was a decent runner. Could run two miles without much of a problem. Actually ran a mile in less than six minutes, which wasn't nearly good enough to make me a competitive runner at a track powerhouse program, but was better than most high school kids. But I didn't enjoy it. So, eventually, I stopped doing it and focused my exercise attention on more fruiful activities such as basketball.

But I'd never run a 5K before, and I thought, sure why not? Then, I started running and began thinking, WHAT HAVE I GOTTEN MYSELF INTO? It's very difficult to go from not running for YEARS to trying to get into shape to run a 5K in just three weeks. Very difficult. I ran a mile a day for the first week, and my body just rebelled. I ditched my training plan, which was to work my way up from a mile a day the first week to two miles a day the second week and three miles a day leading into the 5K, and decided to take a week off and then work my way up to the 5K on the final week.

I came back with fresh legs and ran my best mile time yet in less than 7 minutes and 30 seconds, not nearly as good as I was more than a decade ago, but still not a bad effort. Then I ran two miles in 17 minutes and 8 seconds, and actually felt pretty good about the way things were going. Thought I would try three miles the next day, but again, the legs rebelled and I didn't even finish running all of two miles, but still finished in 18:26, which wasn't terrible considering I walked about a quarter of a mile.

Strangely enough, as much as I hate running when I'm running, I'm starting to enjoy the way my body feels after I'm done. Like I said, I'm pretty much a lazy person, and my body doesn't get too much physical use, especially since it's the offseason from my basketball officiating (which starts back up next week!). So it actually is starting to feel good that my muscles are being used often.

I don't really know what to expect in the morning. I haven't run 3 miles yet, much less 3.2, and I don't know if I can finish the whole thing without walking. That's my first goal. I think being in a competitive race, where it's not just me and the road, will help me have some adrenaline and push me to continue running when I want to quit. But I really don't know how my body will react. My legs are sore today, even though I didn't run, after the two straight days of running two miles. I know that doesn't sound like much, but I really have only put about two weeks of training into this thing, so my body is not ready to respond to all-out training. I initially set a goal of finishing in less than 30 minutes, and I still think that's a goal that I can meet. However, after running 17:08 on Wednesday, I've started to think that if I can keep that pace up, that I might be able to finish in under 25 minutes. That's what I'm considering an "impossible" goal, but I think you need to push yourself and challenge yourself when you are competing.

What I'm hoping is that this isn't just a one-and-done thing. Once I actually finish a 5K and have an established standard, I truly believe I'm going to want to compete against myself to do it better the next time. And hopefully, if I keep pushing myself and doing it more and more, I'll get even better and start to enjoy it more. After all, I do need to exercise. I went to the doctor earlier this week and had lost 10 pounds from where I was three months earlier. But I'm still 17 pounds heavier than where I really need to be. Hopefully, with a positive result in the morning, I'll keep heading down this road and see the pounds shed off.