My quest to become a runner

I have just finished day 2 of my running program... that's out of 27. It's been a dream of mine for a while to consider myself a runner. Right now my label might be someone who runs twice every year after she's forgotten how hard it is. Hardly a regular runner.

But I have plenty of reasons to continue. Back in June, I set a goal for myself to lose 20 pounds by Christmas, and miraculously, I'm halfway there. Just working out regularly shed 5, and the gluten free diet automatically took off another five. Then, for about three weeks, I found myself stuck. I have to up the ante just a bit. Enter week 1 of the Couch to 5K program, which involves a five minute warmup, and eight intervals of running for 60 seconds and walking for 90. It ends with a five minute walking cooldown.

Here's my experience as an official Runner so far:

Day 1: Felt really good until I realized I planned my run around the neighborhood badly, and my last running sprint ended up on the wrong way up a terrible hill. I spent the first couple minutes of my cooldown period heaving and feeling just awful. I then recovered, and found myself breathing relatively shallow breaths by the time I got back to the apartment. I then took a shower, and proceeded to hack stuff up for the next couple of hours. (Really attractive healthy girl. I felt like a smoker.) I realized my path had taken me right next to pretty busy roads, and I'm sure I had been inhaling exhaust and just general crazy cold air for the past half hour. After I cleared my lungs, however, I ended up feeling GREAT - so much so that I decided it was totally worth it to try running outside again, just take another path.

Free Day: I found I needed a little motivation to go ahead with day 2, so I bought some running pants - they totally paid off.

Day 2: Found a different, though still pretty hilly path to take today. I ended up finding a coffee shop within walking distance (what a nice weekend walk that would be for me and Tom!) and an eye care specialist, which, given the state of my eyes, I should have just cut my workout short and demanded an examination. Made a mental note to never run on Hermoso Way, as there's a dog that NOBODY'S watching that will run, barking at me, and follow me until I'm an appropriate distance from its house. (Doesn't yelling "Excuse me! Dog!" make the owners take notice these days?) At the very end of my run, I found a really sweet residential area that has barely any traffic and seems to go on for long enough to get my whole run in... I must explore this more on Sunday. Didn't take nearly as long to recover, though I made sure I ended my run on a flat surface. And though I was pretty sweaty, I have yet to start coughing. I'm assuming this is a good sign.

I am really excited I found that nice, set away neighborhood - that's where I'm going to start on Day 3. There's a big, scary hill pretty soon in to it, but if I make sure I'm running uphill in the middle - not the end - of my run, I feel confident that I can tackle it.

It's weird how this need to run has hit me - I think it's because for some reason, in Portland, EVERYONE is active. Even the stoner crowd wants to be outdoorsy. And for some reason, like staring at the group of smokers in the ditch behind the highschool, I want to know what it feels like to be in the "in" crowd.

My last word about this subject today: I have decided that I'm most certainly looking ridiculous as I run, and I am not yet ready to run with other people. So to all my Portland friends, if you're thinking to yourselves, "Hey! A new running buddy!" - think again. I'm still new here, I JUST got you all to like me. You think I'm going to let you see me heaving, panting, and wiping spit off my mouth while trying not to trip on my own two feet? Hell, no, not yet. Give me time!!