Well if you had told me one year ago that I would voluntarily sign myself up to do a 5K run in the spring of 2015 I would have laughed at you. But this is exactly what has happened, three weeks from today I will do my first 5K, a fun run, so it should not be intimidating and it is not timed.
For the past week I have added running to my walking routine and all that fast walking for miles at a time has paid off, it has really built up my endurance. A 5K is around 3.1 miles, last Saturday I ran that distance and managed it well, I was very pleased. I have since run 3.1 to 3.2 miles three more times
Running uses different muscles to walking, this rather surprised me, so I plan to mix it up, some days run, some days walk, some days both. Walking is definitely easier on the body, my right heel is a little sore from the running, but I am doing stretches and have iced it, and feel this will improve with time.
I am not a fast runner! I have read several articles about getting started with running, all said don't focus on speed, focus on endurance and run a pace that is comfortable. This is key, one day I started out too fast, quickly I was breathing too fast and feeling out of breath and had to stop. My mantra when I start is, "keep it slow and steady", this works well for me.
Daughter Amber, and son-in-law Brad signed up for the fun run, I am excited to have their support. Husband Dave, and our daughter Emily will be there to support us and watch the grandsons while we run. I am really looking forward to May 23.
On other news, the shingles are really healing up now, still a little irritation from time to time, but for the most part I feel back to normal, and that is a GOOD THING.
