Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Should I be a runner?

Last night I went out for drinks and dinner with some friends of mine. I ended up having four or five beers, along with half an order of chicken tenders, half an order of bruchetta, and an order of salmon cooked on a cedar plank with a glaze of brown sugar. So good! Of course it didn't help my weigh-in this morning, but hey -- I don't really go out too much these days, so I was fine with the choice I made.

Oh, yesterday I did the elliptical for 20 minutes again. I'm up to Level 13, and ran for 2.1 miles. My best yet! I don't know how much faster I want to go. Do I want to be running 7 minute miles again?

Back in the day (and by that I mean the fall of 1992), I ran Cross Country for my high school. I sucked. Turns out I don't much care for the whole running thing. I joined because 1) I wanted to be involved in sports of some kind, 2) my friend Mike was going to run, and 3) there was a cute girl who ran, so in my adolescent mind I thought maybe something would happen there.

Of course, like any good episode of The Wonder Years, my choice didn't go as planned. 1) Cross Country isn't so much a sport as an activity, 2) Mike twisted his ankle on the first day and quit -- I'm just not built to quit like that so I toughed it out, and 3) I never spoke to the girl. Nice triple-fail me!!! lol...

So now I find myself "running" again, five days a week. And I've been entertaining thoughts in my head of putting on the running shoes and stepping out into the neighborhood for a jog, and even finding a 5k that I can participate in. WTF? Need I remind myself that I don't like this stuff? That I don't care what my mile split times are? That I've got a loping gait and I'm not much of a natural at this? What's my deal here? Aren't I in it to lose weight? What's up with the desire for expanding my exercise into a real-world activity?? I don't know. I don't know that I'll actually do much about it. Or maybe I'll try it and hate it and be done with it. At the same time, I don't want to put too much stress on my knees, and running at 255 pounds will certainly do that. So I'm kind of holding off, at least until I'm down in the 230s or 220s. But going outside for this would give me better "real world" fitness, and would put a bit of color on my skin.

Gosh my life is hard. ;)

9 comments:

Shrink to Fit said...

Hey, not a triple-fail at all. You stuck with it! That says a lot right there.

I can not run and even walking sometimes makes my knees ache and swell - due to rotten cartilidge. I ride my bike with no pain at all in the knees so that's my exercise of choice.

Give running a try when you feel like it but don't feel bad if it's still sucky.

Ripx180 said...

cardio wise I think running is the king... Not that I like it but it takes allot of effort and burns lots of calories. I agree at 255 you should ease into it. If you do, get a really good pair of sneaks to help absorb the impact. Even at 200lbs I would like to be lighter and faster. being able to sustain a 7 min mile is pretty freaking fast in my eyes. That would equate to a 22min 5k. It is nice to get outside and run when the weather is nice.

Anonymous said...

Why not challenge yourself?? Beat your personal bests. And as far as a 5k goes..I see nothing but benefits for you..healthier, lighter, leaner, faster, and overall more endorphins causing MAJOR positivity..GO FOR IT!!

Chubby Chick said...

Awesome work out yesterday! Way to go!

Fat[free]Me said...

Run baby run! You know you want to!

Christa said...

you sound like you already are a runner. decision made.

running as an adult, like most things that happen as an adult, is way better. only competing against yourself, the weird little running highs, the mental break, the rhythm.

now. do i get three guesses on which cc runner you had your eye on? this could be fun. what class was she in? and what do i win?

Roder said...

@Christina - Dinner on me next time I'm in Duluth. The Rules: You get three guesses, but I'm giving no info. There weren't *that* many girls!

Julie said...

I was looking at my followers and noticed I was not following many of them. Your blog is one I don't think have discovered until now.

I love this post, I don't think I will ever love exercise, but I wish I could be a runner.
Your high school gym story made me think of my experience with stuff like that.

Thanks for following me!

bbubblyb said...

Sounds like you're doing just fine. It's all about what you want to do so go for what you like doing. I've found that I love being outside over the treadmill or elliptical, it just does my soul good to be out in the sunshine. I think it is about just doing your personal best too. See now you got me feeling guilty for sitting here on my butt lol. So I guess it's time for my walk/jog even in this 97 degree weather.

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