I ran. At last.

By Susan Clark

When I first started writing this blog the first of January I started a journey of movement and walking and a hope that I might actually pick up running some day. Well, I wouldn’t call it running as in “I’m a runner now” just yet, but after getting the “go-ahead” from my doctor last month after a full checkup, I’ve incorporated three one-minute runs into my 20-minute walk. Actually, the way it works is I walk for a brisk 10 minutes and then alternate one minute running, one minute walking, one minute running, etc. for a total of six minutes and then walk for four more minutes followed by stretching. I will do this every other day and add more running intervals each time. That was Monday and today, Friday, I walked eight minutes and alternated running with walking for 10 minutes, followed by a two-minute walk.

Those of you who run may laugh but different things enter my mind as I pick up the pace. One, before I started this I consulted with a long-time runner about how my feet should land on the pavement or treadmill. I had read something about this in a women’s health magazine saying something about not landing on my heels first (which I thought odd since we walk heel first). She quickly told me just to run, that these magazines only confuse “newbies.”

Newbie, eh? Is this an endearment, an official noun in real runner’s world, or is there a chuckle behind it? Probably all three! Glad to have a new title. Other things that enter my mind, especially the first two times, “I can’t wait for this minute to be over,” “this might be easier if I weighed 100 pounds,” “I wonder if I’m really cut out for this,” “this should be fun, right?”

I’m still working on the inner thought of “this should be fun,” but the other thoughts are starting to dissipate as I’ve completed my third walk/run workout. I really do feel terrific, both physically and mentally, after my workout. I notice when I run and then return to the walk, the walk feels like I’m gliding almost. On the days in between when I’m not walking/running I’ve started some strength training with hand weights and lots of stretching.

I’m trying to now find something on my iPhone that will assist me with my timing and make this easier to do outdoors. There is a free program called Runkeeper that I’m going to learn to use. It’s spring in Oklahoma and what a great time to get out and experience the great outdoors. I’m stepping it up and look forward to sharing my experience after another week. I’d love to hear other’s thoughts on what running means to you, why you do it, and is it fun? How does it fit in with the other things you enjoy doing? Until next time…