Why did I start the Couch to 5k

A few years ago, I began the Couch to 5k training program by Active.com. I stuck to the program for about 3 weeks and then just kind of stopped. I was living at my university for the summer working in the tutoring center a few days a week for only a few hours at a time. I found myself with a lot of free time. I decided to try to take up running, partially to get in shape and partially just to have a goal to work toward during the summer. Unfortunately, I wasn't very motivated. I didn't like running. I ran on the treadmill and always got shin splints. I never tried running outside because of the heat, humidity (I was living in Minnesota at the time), and worry about running on concrete. I didn't have a reason to stick to the program.

In January 2018, I decided I wanted to lose some weight. During college, I gained about 20 pounds. During the first semester of law school, I gained around another 20 pounds. The 1L 15 is much more real in my experience than the Freshman 15! Law school is stressful, and if you're anything like me, you deal with stress (and emotions in general) by cooking, baking, and eating! In January, I finally got tired of looking at pictures of myself and not liking what I saw.

As part of my goal to lose weight and become a healthier, fitter person, I opened up the Couch to 5k app for the first time in about 3 years in summer 2018. My grandparents had given me $100 for my birthday, and so I went to the runner's store near me and bought a pair of shoes my aunt and my mom (both life-long runners) recommended to me (the Altras). (I will write another post about Altras). The next day, I got up early and went for a run before breakfast.

And let me tell you, it was hard. I had moved to Boulder, CO, the summer before, and while I had acclimated to the altitude, I was still trying to run for the first time at over a mile high. I got back to my apartment and laid down on the floor for a few minutes with a bottle of water, making myself breath and sip the water. I was a little disheartened. After all, the first week of training is run/walk intervals - 1 minute run and 1 minute 30 seconds of walking. I thought I should have been in better shape than that!

One reason that I pushed through and kept doing the training was that I had just spent a hundred dollars on a new pair of shoes. If I was spending that much money on a running item, I was going to use them, goddammit! So two days later, I got up early, put on my Altras, and went for day 2 of week 1 of my training. And it was hard, but I was surprised that it wasn't as hard as day 1! It was the same workout, but somehow I felt better at the end.

Since then, I have missed training a few times. When I had particularly bad runs, I would re-do that training week rather than push through to the next challenge. When I started by 2L year at the end of August, I stopped running for the entire month of September. At the beginning of October, I felt I had settled into a routine enough to get back into my Altras and try again. I started at the beginning of the training program because I was worried about how much I had missed. That was the right decision, and nothing to be ashamed of! I gave myself room to ease back into running, rather than throwing myself back in at the spot where I had left off (week 6 day 3, which would have had me doing a 22-minute jog!).

This time around, the training doesn't feel as difficult as it did the first time. I think I've even started experiencing the runner's high that everyone talks about! I get home from a run, and even though I'm tired, I feel fantastic. I always want to call my mom and share my experience with her. She's been a runner her entire life, and she always tried to get me interested in her sport. I never understood the appeal. Running made me tired and sore, and if I didn't feel like I was dying during the run, then I was bored. Now, I love to go for my runs! I'm looking forward to moving up to the next stage of the training program. I'm planning to do official 5k races with my mom and my aunt after I'm done with training. I'm even looking forward to the point when I can start training for 10k races, and I've started looking into what training might look like for half marathons!

I still find that I need to keep myself motivated. Part of that is planning to do a race with my mom and my aunt, because I want to be able to do that race at the same pace as them. The other part is figuring out rewards I can give myself as I'm hitting goals. Recently, I bought myself a foam roller and a pair of compression sleeves for my calves. When I hit my next goal, I'm thinking of getting a hydration pack or a new adjustable armband for my phone. But even though it is sometimes hard to make myself get up and go for a run, I also look forward to the next run and remind myself that at the end, I'm going to feel amazing!

Even though it's scary and hard, remind yourself that it gets easier! The goal isn't to be the fastest or the strongest. The only person to beat is yourself. The goal is to feel good!

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