Running: Week 1 Goals Accomplished!!!

A little introduction ... 5-7" weighted 178 pounds and had quite a tummy. One fine day found it a strain to even tie my shoelaces :-)) Had to do something about it.

Started doing cardio quite some time back ... actually about 5-6 months back, along with the regular diet changes and strength training exercises. U know ... low fat, high protein, low carb et al ... Elliptical seems to be the perfect cardio machine for a beginner just starting out. Easy on the knees and with levels to adjust to increasingly heavy cardio workouts. And running just scared the wits out of me :-))

Fast forward 6 months ... Lo an behold, am 160 pounds with a near fat tummy but nowhere close to a Brad Pitt style body ... not that I would be able to get one ... but u know ... like someone quoted "Aim for the moon ... and you will land among the stars".

Since elliptical seemed like a manegeable exercise and cycling on a gym cycle seems a bit stationery w/o much action (atleast to me) here I am, attempting to run!!!

Preliminary Goal: 20 minutes at 6mph with 5 minute warmup and 5 minute cooldown.

Week 1: Am able to do the warmup and cooldown (thats the easy part, no!!!) with 7.5 minutes total running time at 1.5 minute running intervals at 6mph and 2.5 minutes walking intervals at 3mph.

Believe me, running is hard, especially if the body is not used to it. It is also more of a psychological game, a constant war against negative thoughts which push you to stop aided by tired legs. Also my right knee is hurting a little bit, an offshoot of a fall from 4 yrs back plaing racquetball with a friend. Showed the knee to a specialist, but X-rays showed normal. So here I am, making a decent attempt to run as long as the knee holds.

But again, as Paul Tergat, the Kenyan professional marathoner said ... "Ask yourself: 'Can I give more?'. The answer is usually: 'Yes'."

So week 2 goals: 10 minutes running with 2 minute intervals of walking. Paul Tergat, be by my side :-))