How I found running...

Providence: a manifestation of divine care or direction.

Providence, that is how I found running. God organized a collection of happenings that led me to running north on my country road.

First, about 5 weeks ago I was fed up. I knew I was out of shape and anywhere from 15 to more like 30 pounds overweight. It was a little more than 10 weeks to my oldest daughter's 3rd birthday. I wanted to get back to my pre-pregnancies weight, actually I wanted to weigh less than my pre-pregnancies weight. So I made a goal to lose 15 pounds in 10 weeks. That would put me at 165, the highest healthy weight for my height, and 5 lbs less than when I became pregnant with Holly. However I did not want to go on a diet. I didn't want to change anything temporarily. I wanted to build permanent habits. So in addition to losing 15 pounds my goals were to exercise for 200 minutes a week, eat 5 fruits/veggies a day, and drink at least 20 oz of water a day.

The first week I walked (outside and on the treadmill), did some toning work outs on TV/DVD, and talked my hubby into a family bike ride. My treadmill time was limited to about 1/2 an hour during naps so to boost it up I jogged a few 1 minute intervals. I knew I hated running "distances". I had only run a complete mile twice in my life, and of course thought I was going to die after those. But those little one minute intervals were fun. And, one day I decided to see how long I could jog. So one day after a short warm-up I jogged for 5 minutes straight. I was tired but proud of myself. However, it still didn't click that running could be more than just a few minutes to pump up my walking.

In the spirit of my healthy lifestyle, when we out to eat with some friends that Friday, I suggested we walk on our municipal trail after dinner. It was a beautiful June evening, so the trail was busy with bikers, walkers, and runners. Though I hated running myself I have always been fascinated by those who actually did enjoy it. And I especially took note of two girls in "Lake Run Club" T-shirts since 14 month-old Heather called out a loud "Hi" and waved at them from her stroller.

At one point we passed an interesting woodsy area, with dirt trails off to the side of the paved trail. On the way back I wanted to check out this "Hidden Creek Nature Sanctuary" So I jogged on ahead a little bit. when I started walking through the side trail I noticed it was a bit dark in there, and though the trail ran roughly parallel to the main trail, I wasn't sure how far I had to go before I caught up with it. So I started to run. That is where it clicked. I was running, and I was enjoying it! I only ran for about 2 or 3 minutes before I caught up with the trail. But I was hooked.

As I thought about how fun it was to run, I remembered those girls and the Lake Run Club shirts. From the back of my memory banks came the idea that the Lake Run Club had a non-runner to runner training class. (i think I read about it in the paper) A quick online search, and i found them. I was disappointed to see that the class runs from Feb through April, but excited when I found their training regimen was posted online. I read through it and knew I could do it.

That was four weeks ago. Tomorrow I start my 10 minute intervals (10 min run/3 min walk : repeat 3 times) I don't think I have ever run for a total of 30 minutes in one day, let alone in one hour. And I am looking forward to it! I have even found that if I get up at 6am I can "run" outside, by myself before hubby leaves for work. I am no longer not a morning person.

I feel like tomorrow is a big day. Running for 30 out of 39 minutes, that could be the equivalent of a 5K, or farther. Looking forward to heading out my door and running north in the morning.