Couch to 5k: The first month

Part of my 101 Things in 1001 Days challenge.

I’ve spent my entire life telling anybody who would listen, “I can’t run”.

I have always been able to walk and swim long distances, usually stopping out of boredom rather than exhaustion. Growing up I played a lot of netball and touch footy, and was a fit and healthy teenager. I remember attempting a regular morning jog during those years and quitting out of frustration.

My asthma has to have played an enormous role in shaping this belief. There have been periods throughout my life where it has been difficult to get enough air into my lungs when I wasn’t exercising, and there’s probably no form of exercise that relies on lung capacity more than running. I remember that swimming was a fantastic sport for me because the rhythm of the strokes helped me to regulate my breathing. It all just flowed.

The time has come to challenge more of myself. Yeah, running is hard. At the moment it is not the most natural feeling for me to deliberately provoke my lungs into war. And yet, along with the right medication, this is exactly the best way to prevent my asthma from running my life any longer.

I am not exaggerating when I say that the Couch to 5k program pulled me out of a largely sedentary Winter. For six months I ate delicious pastas, curries, stews, rice and potatoes and loved every second of it. What I didn’t love was the extra couple of kilos at the end of it!

So when I began this 9-week running course a few weeks ago I think I must have started with a fitness level of zero. No-one is more surprised than I to find how much I am enjoying it!

Yesterday I finished my fourth week, which means I’ll hit the half-way point of the program in a few days time. The satisfaction that I feel after each session is indescribable, and I find that I am even looking forward to my evening run. I’m really quite astounded to be feeling so relaxed and “in control” about something that I have always been scared of!

Here are a few things I have learned in the first month of the program:

• It doesn’t matter how cold it is, how much it is raining, how tired I am or how crappy my day was. Three minutes after putting on my shoes and leaving the house, I will be as “into it” as I am on a good day.
• I need to LOVE the music I listen to while I run. This is not the time to try out an album that is “just okay” – the music I choose can really make or break the quality of my session.
• The first half of my session will always be harder than the second half. I don’t know why, but it’s true.
• I feel far greater satisfaction running all the way around a small park than halfway around a large park.
• The first time I have to do a longer run as part of my program I choose a brand new direction and set of streets. It gives me the advantage of something new to look at, and prevents me from recognising a landmark from a shorter run. Basically, it’s about keeping myself distracted and in denial!
• I often find that I have to pace myself during a longer run, and don’t run as naturally as I would like. Now, after finishing every session, I give it one last sprint. I can’t even describe how good that feels.

I apologise for evangelizing on the subject of running all of a sudden, but I really am astounded at the difference I have seen in myself in such a short time – in my stamina, my attitude and my body. I’ve been treating my body like crap for years, and I suppose it shouldn’t come as a surprise that it is responding so well to a little tough love.

According to internet experts most people quit in Week 5. It’s easy to see why, given that by Friday I will supposedly be running 20 minutes with no walking! I admit to being a little bit intimidated by the prospect of running for this length of time, but it has helped a great deal to read the stories of other people who have done the program. I can’t deny that this has been done successfully by people who face bigger hurdles than me, especially in terms of weight, age and attitude. I think I just need to accept that it’s going to suck, it’s going to hurt, but it’s well within my ability to see it through.

And if I can’t do it on the first attempt? I’ll try, try again. It sounds like many people end up repeating a week of the program until they are ready to move on, and that sounds like the most sensible approach. My focus is on remaining injury-free, increasing my stamina and making it through to the end of Week 9 (in however many weeks it takes!).

Wish me luck…