The Year of the Races

In my younger days I ran.

I ran for fun and my health. I loved it. And one day I stopped. I don’t know why, it was something that just faded away.

In the years that have passed I always thought about starting again. Every time I would try to run at the pace and longevity that I had before. I knew better, I knew that after a decade of not running I couldn’t pick up where I left off. But I tried, and I failed. So I would get discouraged and put my running shoes back in the closet.

It is different this time.

In October of 2013 I broke that habit. I heard about the Couch to 5k program.

Before I praise the program, let me tell you something about it. It is nothing but common sense. This is not a negative comment about the program. I knew I needed to start small and work my way back up, but I needed someone else to tell me how to do it.

The basic principle is that you start out by doing running and walking intervals. You run three times a week for nine weeks. With each run you gradually increase the time (or distance) spent running. At the end of the 9 weeks you are able to run a distance of 5k (about 3 miles) without any walking, supposedly in 30 minutes. Giving you a pace of 10 minute miles.

So in October of 2013 I jumped on the band wagon and began to run. Around the holidays my sister talked me into doing a race with her, a 5K. The race also offered a 8k and a 15k race. I decided that I knew I could do the 5k, but I didn’t know if I could complete the 8k. So I signed up for the 8k.

I started to share my training journey with you, on this blog, in a Running Journal series. During my training and completing my first ever race I found that I am addicted to racing. You can follow my races and running experience by signing up for email updates. It is also a great place to find motivation for your running journey.