New Runner, Chapter 14

NEW RUNNER: After the fog lifted Sunday morning, I went out. I was coming off a good run in the rain/mist on Friday, and feeling on top of the world. (Two months ago, I wouldn't have set foot out the door in the same situation!)

My C25K program wanted me to run for a full 20 minutes. My body failed me.

I've been battling a cold and sore throat for about three days. I had to take breaks two times to walk for about a minute, then ended my run early ... by about two minutes.

I'm not happy with myself. But, I just couldn't do it.

My next program has longer running times with walks in between. I think that works best for me right now. And I hope this cold/sore throat thing goes away fast. I don't have time to be sick ... and I want to keep my body going at the pace it has been. So frustrating!

MISS DAISY: The first thing to remember is that you are challenging yourself every time you go out there. Every single time. The program is designed to be HARDER every time. Which means you're not going to just be able to do it easily. That's the whole point. The harder part is what makes you stronger. Repeat it over and over and over in your head. You are not failing. You are TRAINING. If it was easy, you wouldn't get stronger.

OK, so now that you have that locked in, time to talk about your cold. Isn't it simply amazing how much you now notice the "toll" something like that takes on you? I think it actually serves as a good reminder of the simply astounding mechanical system your body is. When you are healthy, and feeding/fueling yourself properly, getting enough sleep, moving an appropriate amount ... you feel GREAT! But when one of those levers gets out of whack, the whole system suffers a little. When your body is fighting a bug, it doesn't have what you need to be 100%.

In my heavier years, I wouldn't notice that a cold would slow me down much. Sure, I felt like crap, but it didn't prevent me from going grocery shopping or whatever. But when I really began to listen to my body ... to FEEL what it was doing or not doing ... I began to understand those levers better. Inputs, outputs. Being AWARE of your body and how it reacts in different situations is part of this process, too. The more you FEEL and understand, the better you will want to treat yourself in the future. You know that eating right, sleeping well and exercising makes you feel better. So it becomes the reward, not the punishment.

Yes, your muscles and cardio system are getting better. But your head has to learn to think better, too. Does that make sense?

So cut yourself a little slack.Push through the cold the best you can. The rule is if it's in your head, you can do as much as you want to/are able to. If it's below the neck, in your chest, affecting your breathing ... you might want to scale it back or rest. Rest is a very important part of healthy.

You are NOT going to lose ground in a few days. Or a week. And let's, for the sake of argument, say you do. So what? You just do that C25K week over until you feel good about it. This is not a timed-test. This is about you being a better you.

Stronger AND smarter.

P.S. Running 20 minutes in a row is a LOT! And you are going to get there. Much quicker than you think. Be proud of yourself ... you have come a long way!