Slow and Steady Wins the Race

I used to be, well, not so smart about how I approached exercise. It went like this. I woke up one day and I said: "That's it! I'm getting in shape and I'm starting right now!"

When we so had many little kids and no income for a gym membership, I did what every good mom of young kids did, I plunked in a Billy Banks TaeBo VHS at nap time. My problem was that I bought the ADVANCED tape. And when I say advanced, I'm talking about not being able to move for the next week. I'm talking about your arms hurting so bad you can't even lift them, much less lift a child into a swing, or even push the swing. Mommy was useless for days, and that was quite a problem. So that was the end of my workout endeavors. Someone would get sick, or I would get sick, or we would go on a trip, and I would never get back on the bandwagon. My approach was all or nothing.

But as years went by, a very wise pastor would often mention the benefits of plodding on in any endeavor instead of doing life in fits and starts. The message began to sink in and then I was introduced to Couch to 5K. The concept intrigued me. Just because a couch potato can only run for 60 seconds before being so tired that they are about to collapse, doesn't mean they should run for 60 seconds and then stop for the day. Instead, for week 1, one can run for 60 seconds and walk for 90 seconds and do that repetition 10 times. Then on week 2, one can run for 90 seconds and walk for 3 minutes and repeat that many times. You only have to run three times a week so you rest a day in between.

I was hooked. It was the slow and steady I was after, with my own running coach in my ear buds telling me when to start and stop (there is a free app that allows you to listen to your own music and then interrupts to tell you when to walk and run.) This app became my best friend. In 9 weeks, one can go from complete couch potato to being able to run a 5K.

But the truth is, I'm a bit of a wimp. It took me more than 9 weeks. Sometimes I'd repeat weeks. If we went for a trip or I had a sickness, I might start back up a few weeks before when I had left off. Several times I made it to a 5K only to let winter keep from running for months and I'd have to start the program over.  But it didn't matter how many times I started and stopped; the point was I was running. I had a program to return after each relapse into couch potato.

So my approach to exercise has now changed significantly since those early kill-yourself-or-nothing days. I don't mind being a little sore; it shows you're pushing yourself. But I will no longer go from absolutely no exercise to 1 hour sessions with Billy Banks kick-boxing. It's all about pacing now.

Truthfully, my 5 mile runs three times each week feel like no big deal, even though my first half is always uphill. I feel great. The hardest part of running for me was when, in C25K, we had to go from 10 minute runs, to doing our first 20 minute run, I think the end of week 6. I thought I would DIE. But once I conquered that, nothing was as hard. Not even uphill in Colorado thin air. It's all good, now that I slowly built up my endurance. Slow and steady.