Achieving Small Success in Fitness

A few years back at work a group of employees got infected by the running bug. Apparently there was a big 5K race coming up and they wanted to see if everyone from work would get involved and run the race. Now let me explain a few things.

First of all, I was a the time in good shape from a muscular stand point at 5’11 235 pounds, but nothing about me said “run”. At that point I not run more than twenty yards at a time in a long time. I was not a runner. I did not enjoy it and I did not think by body could handle it, certainly not 3.1 miles which is approximately the distance of a 5K run.

After being goaded by the guys in the department for more than two weeks, I fell for the peer pressure and agreed. I thought that maybe this could be a chance to get into better shape. Now the hard part had arrived. How was a larger individual like myself going to train for and survive a run of this length?

I began by using a treadmill at work and in retrospect I will tell you that this may have been a mistake. I had three months to train before the race was scheduled and I spent the first month and a half trying to run on the treadmill. I will tell you first hand that there is a difference between running on a treadmill and running on pavement.

I was doing great running on the treadmill three times a week always taking at least one day off for rest. After just a month and a half I had gotten up to jogging without stopping for three miles. I thought I had reached the promise land. Boy was I wrong.

Had I taken the time to do some research online I would have realized that a treadmill is a different kind of running. There are several articles online you can read that will tell you although both are good for you, if you are going to be running a race outside you need to train outside. There is more impact to your knees when running outside and your feet are not being pulled along by a belt.

Needless to say after that month and a half when I went to run outside I made it half a mile before my knees hurt and my calves were on fire. I was upset and to be honest I almost quit right there. With just over a month to go before the race and I couldn’t run more than a half mile without having to walk in pain, I was distraught.

I am happy to say that I stayed with it. I completely did away with the treadmill and began training outside. I started running on the pavement to get ready for the race. My advice to all of you out there who want to achieve success in running when you are not built like a runner is to take it a little at a time. I ran the half mile I could the first day and slowly added to it. Again, three days a week and take a day off in between. After three weeks I was able to jog three miles without stopping to walk . If I can do it, I promise you that everyone else out there can do it too.

I am happy to say that on race day I ran the entire race without stopping. Although I did not record a world record time, I completed the race and felt a real sense of accomplishment. That alone was worth the training I had put myself through for the three months. I would like to encourage everyone to find a goal that will help you get into shape and get healthy. Make it something attainable and I promise you that when you accomplish it you will fee wonderful about yourself. I know I did.