Running

So I am not a runner. I have never been a runner. I never even wanted to be a runner. I always envied those who would go running because they were able to do it, but I never wanted to put in the effort necessary to be a runner, so I never bothered. I am pretty sure in the 3rd grade, when we had to do the fitness test stuff and had to run a mile, I am pretty sure it took me like half an hour, and I probably walked half of it, if not more. I hated running. And my knees and ankles have never been big fans, either. In fact, one of my knees has really been against it since a short stint in October 2010 which caused a torn meniscus or ligament or something.

But then this winter came. It came late, but it came. And it was COLD. But honestly, not for very long. Already it is starting to warm up again (hopefully for good, though I'm not holding my breath) and the sun "shines" or at least is up longer now than it was a month ago. Spring is definitely coming. And I'm not sure exactly when it happened, but one day, I decided that I wanted to run. It was probably while there was snow on the ground and it was barely safe to walk. But I still had this desire. And when it came repeatedly, I decided that I would start doing the couch to 5k program once it got warm enough to run.

I must preface (or midface) this blog post with a note that I have asthma, though it has become milder as I have gotten older, it is aggravated by certain things, for example a chest cold and exercising in the cold. Just yesterday, I had to jog to catch the bus, and then to put the trash in the dumpster so I could catch another bus and ended up needing my inhaler as my lungs decided that it was too cold for them to function well. Since this has been my experience, I have opted not to run in cold weather because honestly, besides it aggravating my asthmas, it hurts!

This morning, I woke up to a clear blue sky and the sun shining. The kind of day that you half expect "It's a beautiful morning!" to just start playing out of nowhere. And I thought to myself, "Well, today's as good a day as any to start. I wonder how cold it is." I looked up the forecast and it was supposed to be sort of cold. I went outside to go shopping and it wasn't quite as bad as I was thinking, except when the wind blew. When I got home, I made myself go out. I had downloaded a podcast which played some music and told me when to switch to running and walking, so I just pushed play and off I went. And I realized some marvelous things. For one, it only hurts to breath for like ten seconds. Once your body warms up and gets used to the exercise, it doesn't hurt anymore. Thankfully, I didn't need my inhaler, either. For another thing, running's not so bad. I couldn't have done a straight 30 minute run, I don't think, but I'll work up to it. I started thinking I will cover more ground, I'll have to run more. But then I remembered that I will also work up to it. I don't have to do it overnight.

So anyway. I don't know when day 2 will come, but I finished week 1 day 1 of couch to 5k and it was awesome! I loved it! And I hope it becomes a normal habit for me! I just have one question. Will my face ever not turn bright red when I exercise?