31 August 2008

my first 5k (a.k.a. dietsches on parade)

i have always hated running. that's why i'm not quite sure how this happened, but suddenly i find myself training for a 5k. the story leading up to this decision begins here in a post i wrote about 6 months ago. since then, i have tried to continue the jogging trend, but was finding it really difficult to stay motivated and extremely easy to talk myself out of it (and into an ice cream sundae instead).

i decided i needed a plan and a goal or this would never work. i discovered a running schedule online that helps you work up to a 5k in two months. somehow i talked matt into doing it with me, knowing that having a running partner would also help with the motivation factor. so now it is a family affair. we have a set route that miriam and levi have become familiar with as they lead the way on their bikes, and matt and i follow with sawyer in the jogging stroller. the kids really enjoy it. and i have to say... i pretty much still hate running. BUT, five minutes after finishing it feels great. (during, however, i must admit that some choice four letter words come to mind.)

today was day 1 of week 5 in a 9 week training schedule. by the end of this week we are supposed to run 2 miles without stopping. right now the thought of that makes me want to crawl in a hole and hide. so, here's hoping i'll stick with this for another month and actually show up for the race on october 4!

6 comments:

Jen said...

The "Francis 5K" is next Sunday! I am in week 8 of what is likely the same program... up to 28 minutes straight and mostly loving it. I am a similar life-long running hater, but I've converted. It's all about the mind games here... have fun and maybe we'll meet up for a race sometime! Is that a pic of your new shoes??

Jen said...

P.S., your background music is Ella's favorite band, Coldplay. She LOVES that song and has been enthralled by them the two times we've found them on TV. I think she totally digs Chris Martin.

val said...

jen,

ella is such a little diva. on our trip we had satellite radio in our rental car and one station was playing 30 days of coldplay. it was awesome, i never got sick of it.

wait--i thought you were running a 5k in holland the weekend after ours? if so, i think matt wants to do that one with you guys instead of the zeeland one. are you doing more than one? i'm very impressed.

btw, you guys doing any of the homecoming stuff that weekend?

val said...

ps jen:
yes, those are my new shoes. they are like feathers compared to my old ones!

Jen said...

I doubt we'll do homecoming stuff... thanks for reminding me it's the same weekend, though. We'll need to keep that in mind. Yes, I think we are planning on it at this point... once you've done one, why not keep going, right?

Dan and Jordan said...

Val, hang in there. I feel your pain, I just made it to 2 miles. From experience, I really believe getting to 2 is the hardest part. Hopefully 2-3 will be a breeze for you. Jordan