Becoming a Runner

This is a post about learning to run with C25K (couch to 5K) and SparkPeople (SP). I posted it on my SP blog. Maybe it'll encourage someone... and it is a great reminder to myself of how far I've come in less than 4 months!

I started C25K in June and graduated in August. I started running 3 miles during the last couple of weeks of C25K, though it took me almost 12 weeks to complete the program! I basically repeated weeks 1-3.

Anyway, I DID learn to run for 30 minutes using C25K (And, believe me, it was HARD to run for 60 seconds and then 3 minutes at first. I have NEVER been an athlete, I'm 40 years old, and I had JUSt got 'off the couch.'). BUT, I was no where close to 3 miles in 30 minutes! I'm still not! I was running about a 17 min 30 sec mile, so I wasn't even making it TWO miles in 30 mins! But, my endurance kept increasing.

Yesterday, I ran my first sub-14 minute mile (barely). I keep getting faster, but even at that pace I wouldn't run much more than 2 miles in 30 minutes. And, my endurance keeps increasing! On Saturday, I ran 4.5 miles! It's still hard for me to believe that I (YES, I!) can run that far! (Or even that I'd want to.)

So, I hope this encourages you to keep at it and also to show you that not everyone will finish C25K running 3 miles in 30 minutes... actually, I think most people won't! But, you WILL become a runner. And, if you are like me, you'll be amazed at your own progress.