C25K- I did it, so can you!

I have had a lot of people ask me about how I started running.  No one, not even my mom,  is as surprised as I am that I now love running.  I was never very active, besides dance class and a sad little dabble in junior varsity basketball my sophomore year in high school (we were 0-13 by the way).  Anyway...

I have always wanted to be a runner, but literally could not run a block, or so I thought.  Long story short- I joined an online community called The Nest (the Knot for married folk) and I started reading the Health and Fitness community boards.  So many of the women on there had started running with C25K and were already running half marathons and even marathons.  I decided to give it a try and began Couch to 5k- a nine week program that slowly gets your body used to running and works you up to running your first 5k.  Most people who have followed my journey have asked if they could do it.  My answer? ANYONE can do it.  I truly believe that anyone, fat, skinny, old, young, injury prone, lazy boned...anyone can run.  It is 100% (ok, maybe 98%) mind over matter.  To prove my point, at least in my case, let's take a look at my first plea for help on The Nest- I wrote this on April 1st:

I'm a lurker that needs some serious help with running.

I want to run.  I envy people when I see them running.  I just can't.  I once ran .5 (as in 1/2) a mile and thought I had just finished a marathon (I literally threw up my arms on the treadmill and screamed out "WAHOO!"...needless to say the guy on the treadmill next to me got a good chuckle). 

I can't BREATHE when I run- I literally cough and gasp for air for about 10 minutes after running a block.  I have tried an inhaler when my doctor thought I might have exercise induced asthma (years ago) but I don't remember that helping all too much.  I have looked at the C25K program, and even running for 2 minutes straight seems like I would pass out from it. 

 I'm not overweight (that is NOT to say I am in shape, however). I weigh 130 and I am 5'6"- I don't eat terribly bad (but not as healthy as I could, either).

Am I alone or are there other people who started like this, too?  Is there hope for me or should I just accept that I will never be a runner?

The friendly strangers' responses were some of the best advice I have received up to date with running.  They told me to SLOW down.  When I finally got the courage to try the program, I ran consciously way slower than I wanted to.  Previously, I ran WAY too fast- I ran how I thought I should run, i.e.- how other people ran (aka WAY TOO FAST for me!).  I slowed way way down, and started jogging slower than a snail.  Almost literally.  I had 80 year old men passing me as I ran for only 2 minutes straight.

But I kept at it.  My husband (we'll call him Mr. C for the purpose of this blog) was training for a half marathon, but that did not stop him from running every single day by my side.  Even when it was just two minutes at a time, he would make me feel like I was running the biggest race of my life.

Five weeks into the program, I wrote this on The Nest:

I DID IT! Remember me?  The girl who couldn't run a block without dying?  I just ran for 20 minutes straight.  It also happened to me my first mile.  Ever.  Even in grade school, I walked the mile.  I ran as slow as I could so I could control my breathing but I ended up running 1.67 miles.  And I could have gone further. EEKK!

I don't think words can describe how I felt after that first mile.  Mr. C. was wearing the GPS running monitor I bought him for his birthday, and the second I hit the one mile mark for the first time in my life he grabbed my arm and announced to anyone who would listen that HIS WIFE (me!!) ran an entire mile.  And then?  I kept going.   Now if you are any good at math, you will realize that I was running a 12 minute pace.  For most people, that is slow.  But, I didn't care one single bit.  And you know what?  The speed came, eventually (and when I say speed I don't mean an 8 minute mile- we're talking holding steady around a 10 minute mile- but that's fast- for me!).

I don't want to get too much into the actual 5k I ran in July- because I will do a total race recap later on.  But I did end up running my 5k just a few days after finishing the C25K program.  And I ran it in 32 minutes.  I ran three miles, without walking ONE step, and I ran it at 10:19 pace.

So the moral of the story is if you have ever wanted to run, start with C25K.  I mean it- YOU can do it.  YOU can run.  If I can, anyone can.  It won't be easy.  There were days I wanted to quit so bad but I had the good fortune to have a great support system to keep pushing me.  Motivation is overrated.  Just do it (thanks, Nike).

And to finish out my first real blog post- here is a picture that proves just how not easy my first 5k was.  Take a look at this beaut:

Now off to train for my first half marathon! (Did I mention runners have short term memory?  We don't remember the pain or the tears- just the glory!)