FF-52 and Fatherhood Friday #15

Pain was shooting from the top of her left foot, up her shin, and all the way to her knee. Walking was a bit difficult. She hoped the pain would be gone by morning. Worse yet, was the pain of failure. Obviously, she’d have to Day 1 of the Couch to 5k program over again.



I guess this week's topic is not really about Fatherhood. It's about fitness and how we as moms and dads try to keep ourselves in shape not only for ourselves, but for our kids: both as a role model and to keep up with them! I tried something yesterday in my attempts to satisfy both aspects. It was an EPIC FAIL! LOL

Yesterday I attempted Day 1 of the Couch to 5k program. This program is supposed to take you from a sedentary state to running a 5k in just a few weeks. I actually think that you need to be skinny and somewhat active to actually complete this. Maybe it's just me. Day one consisted of 5 minutes brisk walking, then alternating running/walking (1 min running, 2 min walking for total of 20 minutes), and a 5 minute cool down walk. Did I complete the 35 minutes? NO. I was just shy 2.5 minutes. Worse still, I couldn't even do all the running required. Just SEVEN minutes, and I couldn't even do that. I think I completed 3.5 of it. :(

When I finished, my shins were hurting and my legs were shaking. Walking for 35 minutes is not a problem for me. Running for any amount of time always was. In school, that part of P.E. was my least favorite. I know they say anyone can become a runner, but I don't think that's true. Some of us aren't meant to run. My junior year in high school, my P.E. coach decided that he would have us run down to the bay and back for our finals instead of giving us a test. Trust me, I would have rather had the test. One of my best friends and I was always last coming back. This day was no different, except we came back 15 minutes later than everyone else. P.E. was also the time we had to turn our books in for the year. So we went up to our coach. He decided to chew us out a bit. He says to us, "Where have you guys been? Everyone has been back 15 minutes already. Do you know what can happen to two little girlies out there?" (Oh, yes, he called us 'girlies' lol) The whole time he's saying this to us, I'm trying not to laugh, and my friend is listening with all seriousness. lol

O.K., maybe if we hadn't stopped by my house, which was 5 minutes from school, we might have gotten back a bit sooner. Reality is is that we sucked at running. We hated it. He insisted on us doing it everyday. It didn't make me any better of a runner. Needless to say, when we were told we didn't have to take P.E. Senior year, I was all on that! LOL

Now with running one of the best ways to lose weight, I figured I'd try the Couch to 5k to help me become a runner. It's obvious that that isn't going to work either. I know that the pain that was shooting up both legs, mostly the left, was due to being fat, not having proper running shoes, and being seriously out of shape. I also was getting light-headed from the running. I think that means I probably should get a check up before attempting again to get cleared for a running program.

The bright side? My left foot, shin, & knee pain have subsided enough to continue on with my normal exercise activity: Wii Fit, EA Active, etc.

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