Couch to 5K; or "How I Joined The Herd"

So, for the past year or two, I've been following a few different equine-based blogs; primarily those with an endurance focus, but a few others which don't.

Overwhelmingly I've noticed MOST of these equestrians are as serious about their own workouts as they are about their horses.  I mean, some of these people are out there running marathons and stuff!! 

And, for months I've read those posts, said "I hate running.  If I'm running, you should too because there's something chasing me."

Now, I've been trying to modify my eating habits since October of last year.  Food tracking, drinking more water and all of that.  Just trying to be more aware of what I was putting in my mouth, trying to make better choices, but not beating myself up if I "fell off the wagon" for a day or even two.  And, until recently, that's all worked out okay for me and I've had some weight loss.  I stalled at about River Run and started bouncing up and down anywhere from 2-4 lbs.  And I've fought that battle for the past few weeks.

And then, once again a new person said that they were doing Day 1 of the Couch 2 5K app. 

By this point, who hasn't heard of this app?

You?

Well, here's the most basic of breakdowns about what it is from the website c25k.com:
"C25K, is a fantastic program that's been designed to get just about anyone from the couch to running 5 kilometers or 30 minutes in just 9 weeks."

Since Wednesday of last week, I've done this every night (excluding Friday night and Saturday night), repeating days 1 and 2 (which is really just the same workout).  Tonight I will do day 3.  I am unsure if I will repeat day 3 on Wednesday and then begin week 2 on Thursday or not.  My gut says that's probably what I will do.

So far, this is a fairly simple time investment and far healthier for me than 30 more minutes of Candy Crush (yes, I DO still play, thank you very much) or 30 minutes of mindlessly looking at Facebook or even trying to get caught up on some show on Netflix.  Right now I'm listening to Spotify while I do my workout, though perhaps tonight I will listen to a podcast.  I find that the beat of the music really helps my footfalls and rhythm, so I'm loathe to give up the music, though we shall see.

Week 1/Day 1 was hard.  I hadn't figured out how to listen to music while doing the workout, so I spent the 30 minutes listening to my feet hitting the road, my puffing, my internal dialogue of "What the HELL am I DOING?!  I'm to fat for this crap!!  But, I HAVE to do this!  Strider is doing his part, I'm not doing mine."

I started projecting myself forward on my runs to keep moving "You can keep running until you get to that truck up there.  Then you can walk if you want."  "Just keep moving, come on, run to that stop sign, then you can stop and take a breath!"  USUALLY by the time I'd gotten to that object, I was able to stop running and start walking again according to the app (Run/Jog 1 minute and then walk 1.5 minutes).  I wasn't very sore when I finished, and actually felt good, though all 8 of the runs (excluding the first one) were an exercise in torture.  But I stuck it out and did all 8 without quitting during any of them.

I actually felt so good after day one that I repeated day one the next day.  I had only planned to take Saturday off, but I was so tired Friday night that I gave myself permission to sleep as I had to be up early the next morning for Strider's shoeing appointment (which was a disaster.  See previous post).

Looking ahead, week 3 intimidates me right now.  Quite a bit.  So I'm tempted to repeat week 2 once I finish it the first time just to get a more solid base.  Right now I have a very solid route I follow every night that ends with me right near my house.  Each week is going to shake that up.  I guess perhaps I shall start my warm up around our block before heading off.

Any which way, all of this is to say that the world of Endurance/Distance riding has already changed, in so many ways, how I interact with my horse.  I hadn't counted on the ways it would impact how I interact with myself.

For months now I've been following the blogs of fellow endurance riders and noting how many of them run or bike.  Really it seemed to feel like it was about healthy living and better eating and adding in exercise to boot.  I never ever planned on joining that cadre. Except that a few of the people I ride with at endurance rides are healthy people.  They inspire me with their own dedication to being active themselves.  And there's only so long you can watch that and realize as the weeks tick by "Huh, if I had JUST started this a few weeks ago, I'd be much healthier than I am now."

So, after someone in the North American Green Bean group posted about wrapping up week 1 of the Couch 2 5K, I realized "You know, I really should join the masses and get to work on me now."

So, I went ahead and just bought the premium app.  And that night after Joe went to bed, I went out for my first time around 11pm.  I kept it to myself the first few days. 

Except, I know that I'm more prone to continue if I have some kind of accountability.  So, after repeating the first day, on my third time out, I mentioned to my "Bishes", B, H and L, that I was going out to do it.  And I tracked it with Endomondo.  And posted that to my Facebook.  Thus building my accountability network.

I don't think I'll ever run a marathon.  I really and truly don't enjoy running.  But, once I feel solid doing the 5K, I believe I will spring for the Couch 2 10K app.

Because, while I tell people I'm doing it for my family....the real truth is I'm doing this for my horse.  I mean, he IS the one who has to pack my weight around.  It's only fair that if I require HIM to be at peak athletic performance, I start working on my own.