Not Another New Year’s Resolution!

Seriously, it’s not.

Okay, well it kind of is.  But this resolution started in the fall, took a break during the busy-ness of the holidays, and is getting kick-started now that we’re into the new year.  I’ve never been a runner – I’ve tried and failed at it repeatedly.  I’ve also tried and failed repeatedly to get a solid, ongoing workout routine happening.  What works best for me is having a workout buddy – having someone that I don’t want to disappoint or let down by not being there, someone who will help kick my ass on those not-at-all-few-and-far-between moments when I want to do anything but go to the gym.

Sports have always worked for me.  Several years ago I got back into the sports thing, starting with some volleyball and then getting more regularly into soccer, ball hockey and curling.  But these beer-league sports are once or twice a week at best, and not really enough to be fit.

Several years ago I also started taking way better care of my mental health – cutting out negative influences and toxic people from my life, and working diligently to become more open to the people and experiences around me.  It’s been a stellar ride, and I’m sure I’ll blog more about that journey later.

But the resolution thing.  The not really a resolution but kind of a resolution thing.

A colleague of mine was involved with organizing a charity spinning event/fundraiser in the fall, and after surviving our spin-a-thon a few of us went out for a celebratory drink.  It was during this time that we were chatting about fitness and my Non-Runner status came up.  Another colleague swore that he could get me to like running – maybe it was the post-spinning endorphins, maybe it is my positive attitude these days, but probably it was the wine I was drinking – I said “you’re on!” and we’ve been off to the races ever since.

The three of us began running – Coach H., CB and me.  Along the way we’ve inspired some participation from other friends as well, and been inspired by friends of ours who began their own fitness journeys around the same time (that’s right, shout-out to the Army Run 5K girls).

Our first run was supposed to be something like two kilometers on a beautiful day after work.  That day we actually ran about four.  The next run was about the same.  And at the end of week one, we made our way – through a walk-run routine – to a full 10K, our ultimate goal.

Anybody who saw the Coach’s plan thought this was insane – and it was.  But the goal of doing 10 kilometers right away wasn’t to run 10 kilometers well, or to run it entirely, maybe not even to finish it.  The goal was to see what it meant – what we were doing – that 10K was both a big deal and also a totally achievable goal.  It was great.  No matter what the distance we ran after that, we knew we could do it and we were building towards our ultimate goal of ‘for real’ doing 10k.

Unfortunately, due to rotating illnesses and then the busy-ness of the holidays, as a group we’ve kind of been slackers for a little while.  We’re ready now, though, with another goal – to run a 10K in a race.  So, this is the beginning.

The goal for now is to re-map, more or less, the same 10K build-up as before over the coming weeks while also integrating some strength training, which was not included in my routine before.  I think that in addition to my work-out buddies, Coach H. and CB, blogging will help me through this as well.

I’ll blog about physical challenges – like being an old person (sometimes 29 feels ancient), and some other basic / minor but challenging issues.  I’ll blog about the mental game, and I’ll blog about the physical progress.

So, let’s get started, shall we?