I am a couch potato.
There is no getting away from this fact. I love the couch (or my bed- I'm not fussy). I love the TV. And worst of all, I LOVE trashy TV programmes which keep me glued to the couch (or bed). This is why, while the rest of my family go for runs at the weekend, I cherish the couple of hours of freedom where I can simply watch all the terrible sitcoms I enjoy which would normally prompt rolling of the eyes. Thing is, I consider myself to be the winner. For me, running is boring, hard, monotonous and embarrassing... at least the way I run is anyway. So what's the reason for this blog?
One Friday night spent indulging in my other passion- drinking - one of my friends told me they had signed up to do the 5K Race for Life in Hyde Park in July. Having recently given blood for the first time and still enjoying the feeling of having done something good, I thought I might sign up too. The following day, I checked out the details on the Race for Life website and signed myself and my sister-in-law up. My head was filled with thoughts of fund raising, planning fancy dress to run in and ensuring family and friends saved the date in order to come and offer support to make a day of it. It wasn't until later I remembered the 'run' part. Not a natural runner, despite my reasonably long legs, images of me coming last place in cross country with the school came flooding back. Shit. Another thought which kept popping into my mind was that my sister-in-law runs 5K most Saturdays. Shit. I had assumed we would walk the whole event- 3 miles is definitely do-able- even for me. But when I spoke with the others involved, it became clear I had only 2 options: start training, or walk alone.
"I can do it" I kept telling myself over and over again as Ben accompanied me on a 1 mile jog around the block to assess my level of fitness. Apparently, I couldn't. In my defence, I wasn't as bad as I had expected, but my drive to stop, walk and give up was much greater than any drive within me to keep going and push myself.
That was a few weeks ago and I have not ventured outside of the house wearing trainers again.
Putting the run to the back of my mind, I took up my old CP ways and waved the others off as they continued with their regular Saturday runs. Tom doing 16 miles, Ben on 11, Stacey on 5 and me on a big fat 0. This Saturday my eldest brother came to dinner and told me about an iPhone application which he just downloaded in a bid to get fitter (he is more like me with exercise), called Couch to 5K. I listened to him explaining how the app works and it struck me that this was something maybe I could use/do.
The app cost 59p (hardly bank breaking) and is a 9 week guide which will have you running the full 5K (about 30 mins worth) by the end of the programme. There are helpful voice prompts which tell you when to run/walk/warm down etc... The idea is to go out for 30 mins 3 times a week over 9 weeks. The first time I go out will be a combination of walking and running, so walk for 1 minute, run for 1 minute, walk for 1.5 mins and so on. Eventually the time running will increase in line with the walking time decreasing. The programme is by no means set in stone and you are encouraged to keep a pace you feel comfortable with the whole time. Equally, you can repeat weeks as you feel necessary before moving on.
So today is officially Day 1. I am already looking out of the window at the grey clouds and the rain thinking, "maybe I'll start tomorrow...". It's this kind of attitude that will hold me back from ever starting, so when I get home from work I will be going out whether it is raining, thundering or snowing.
Wish me luck...
