Couch to 5K

There is a popular program out there called Couch to 5K.  My wife used it (I'm not sure if she followed it completely) in the past when she decided to get into running.  I have seen other women use it as well.  I'm sure it applies to everyone but I have only seen women using it.

But since I tore my ACL last fall I had been out of the running game for some time.  Probably 5-6 months actually.  And when I did start running at the very end of 2011, it wasn't easy.  Well, last night I ran 3.1 miles on our treadmill in just under 27 minutes.  I have been working very hard to build up to a 5K.  I didn't use this couch to 5 k plan but it seemed like that is what I was doing.  I have had to build up my ability to run again.  Part of my motivation is that my company is sponsoring a 5K at the end of March and most of the team is running in it.  I won last year and I want to have a shot at winning this year.  (I didn't win the whole thing, I was just the fastest from our team).

But I have also been motivated by a desire to be more active.  I love being active and really don't want to become fat. Unfortunately, I love food and seem to be prone to adding weight easily if I'm not active.  So I have tried to make physical activity a normal part of my life.  It has been hard without being able to play soccer, my favorite way to stay active, but I have gotten very close to enjoying running.

I might even start to run longer distances.  I don't think I have run 4 or 5 miles at one time since high school, so that would be a big deal to me.  But I'm thinking I might start setting a goal of running longer distances.  We'll see!

But either way, I'm proud and happy about my current progress.  I might not beat everyone on our team in a few weeks but I'm going to have a lot of fun.