Running

It only took a couple of months to start losing all the benefits of nearly two years of Tae Kwon Do. And, lets be honest, I don't have the disciple to just exercise at home regularly. Why? Because its a) boring and b)lonely and c)hard work.

Oh, I start a new exercise "program" with the best of intentions. And I do it for maybe a day or two. Then I'm back to nothing.

Two things have happened recently which gives me hope for my future fitness level.

1. We got a Wii Fit Plus for Christmas from my sister. This was such an awesome gift that I shall not even call her a Smurf in this post. We've been on the Wii Fit Plus every day since we've gotten it. Toa of Boy works up a nice sweat on it. We had Wii Fit tournaments on New Year's Eve.
2. A friend organized a virtual New Years Day race on Facebook. I wouldn't have participated at all, but I had this new Wii Fit Plus which would time me and track my "distance" as I was running in place on the trampoline.

Guess what? Being in a race was fun.

Guess what else? I made a pretty decent distance, according to the Wii measurement in an easy twenty minutes.

Guess what else? I got a metal.

Guess what else?  A long time ago, back in the days before electricity, when I was in high school, I got invited to be on the women's cross country team by the coach cause I was "built like a runner". I turned the invite down cause running was difficult, I wasn't good at it, and it would cut into drama practice time. Since then I've wondered if I made the best choice.

Guess what else? I found a training schedule I think I can follow.

Guess what else? I have a friend who runs who's considering inviting me into a run/walk that happens to take place on my birthday. What a cool incentive that is.


Now, here are the drawbacks.

1. I'm a wimp and a wuss. I don't want to run outside in the cold, the rain, or the heat. This isn't an issue for now, when I'm content to be on my trampoline, holding a wii mote, and watching Extreme Home Makover. But it will be an issue when I decide to actually move outside and run for real.
2. I need to buy running shoes. Again, not an issue on my trampoline, but will be later.
3. I should buy a cool watch to time myself for alternate running and walking as I build up my endurance.
4. Races have these things called entry fees.
5. The first race I want to run/walk in is in eleven weeks. The training program I found is an 8 week beginners training, followed by a 6 week 5K training. That adds up to more weeks than I have between now and my first race. So, should I cut a week out of the beginning of the beginner's program and jump into the second week? Maybe. I'm crazy that way. On the other hand, its not like that would solve the issue.
6. This isn't really a problem, just a note. The training schedule I found starts on Monday as a rest day. That's not going to work for me. So, I'm making my first day Sunday as a rest day.