Running at 40

I turned 40 this year, and I needed to get a new life insurance policy.

I have been married ten years, put on a few pounds, so I knew I needed to do something.

I signed up my brother as my diet buddy(another post), and we counted calories together. I lost 40 pounds, to qualify for 40x40. I am 5' 6" and was around 205, so 40 pounds down to 165 is a significant change for me.

As a part of this, I began exploring exercise options. I've never been much of an exerciser. I was indeed a 24 hour fitness member for a few years, but not so dedicated. But I ran across the couch to 5k plan and Robert Ullrey's podcast. You can find them on google.

So, I followed it. And I did indeed get up to 5k, and I ran a 5k on the 4th of July, about 8 weeks after I started running.

It goes like this:
1. You run three days a week, with breaks in between.
2. Each week is different. It is interval training. So, you don't get too burned out, Week 1 is run 8 sets of 60 seconds, then walk for 90 seconds. Week 2 is 6 sets of run for 90 seconds, walk for 2 minutes. And you work up, longer and longer.

Long-term assessment:
It worked well. I've never been much of a runner. But I can tell you that I really like running now. There are some days when I get excited to go. And some days when I FEEL LIKE going out and running. I like what running does to my body. It leans me out and has lowered by resting pulse by 30 points, not to mention doing wonderful things for my BP, cholesterol, and triglycerides.

Don't be discouraged. The first week wasn't fun. I was sore, really sore. But the soreness went away. The other thing you'll need to figure out is a good, mostly flat, place to run. Trails work well because of the intervals, you don't want to have a lot of interruptions. When I started, I thought I could train to the point that it would get so much easier on me. Interestingly enough, I always hit a wall at about 2 minutes in. It lasts until about 4 minutes in. It is almost like my body is really protesting and hoping I'll wimp out and stop. I have to battle through it, and then the rest of my run is a lot easier, though I have another wall around 13 minutes, but less severe. My typical run is 20-25 minutes now, during which I cover about 2 miles. Not, I'm not moving fast, but that's not the point.

I discovered that running with my iPod Touch (the only real way I had to run with Robert's podcast) didn't work so well for me. I converted his podcast to mp3 and tried a few different players. I finally ended up with a Sansa Clip, because it is so small, it just clips to my neckline and sounds just fine. I'll write another post on running tunes.

It is getting to be winter here now, and I can't go running anymore before work, there isn't enough daylight. Plus, it was 25 degrees this morning, I'm not ready for that yet. So, now I run at lunchtime, and I'm still learning about what makes good cold weather workout gear. When I first started running, I found that I was carrying too much stuff. So I don't carry my cell phone anymore, nor my big iPod Touch. And I shed a lot of clothes, eventually running in just a swimsuit and a light shirt. Now I have to figure out which lighter clothes to run in to keep the cold air off of my skin, but not overly encumber myself with weight and restriction of motion.

Some days, I run on the treadmill in our basement, and I've even been to the indoor track at the rec center, but it's not the same as getting out on my favorite trails.

But I still really like it.