Monday, May 17, 2010

Current obsession: people who run

I have long harbored fantasies of being a runner. I know I've posted about it a couple of times, last August and last November--it's a real calorie burner and it's a really cheap and convenient way to keep in shape. Unfortunately with my short, thick legs, loose rack, and currently, some extra flab that feels like I have a couple of purses slapping my backside, I'm not a natural fit for running. But I still dream. And live vicariously through other people.

Currently I know two people at work preparing for a marathon in the fall. What I am fascinated by is that one of them is like me--never ran more a couple of miles at a time, though he definitely has better lean line for running. They're following a specific training program with scheduled runs building up more miles each week. I'm constantly asking how their training is going and how many miles they've run that week.

Some other folks in the office are more casual runners, one says it's not worth his time unless he runs for like, an hour. An hour!!! I don't think I could drive for an hour without fatiguing. Another one (who has run marathons) runs with her husband and they just go on some trail in the evening and "just go". I'm pretty sure I'd psych myself out attempting an open-ended jog like that.

Even though my weight has caused me to struggle to even run a mile, I wonder if I could ever run something like, 5 miles without stopping? How long would that take--a couple hours?

Maybe I could eventually build up to it...

1 comment:

Pound said...

i used to run, and i did a program called c25k (couch to 5 k) meaning you go from couch (potato) to eventually running 5k. the 1st day is something ridiculously easy, like run for 2 min, then walk for 4, run for 1 min, walk for 1, etc. but ya after about 30 seconds i thought i was having a coronary. i stuck to it, and got to the point where i ran 30 min. straight, which for most people is 5k. then i'd run 5 k every other day. it's doable. you know me, i'm super lazy, and i did it. i'd do it now if i could. don't take your feet for granted! you feel like you really did something each time you finish a run. doesn't have to be a marathon. i used google maps and plotted my run so i'd run 5k each time. ahhh, the good ol' days. when i could run. anyhoo google couch to 5k.