The Pointer Project: Couch to 5K

You may have heard about the couch to 5K running plan. Basically if you want to start running this program starts you off slowly - running 60 seconds at a time. I actually skipped ahead to running a whopping 90 seconds at a time, whoohoo! And that was actually tough. Embarrassingly, I haven't had cardio exercise in so long, it took a while for my lungs to expand! Anyway, at the end of the running plan you are able to run 5K.

I have been wanting to run for a while. Alison ran a half marathon last year and it was very inspiring. And then I started having dreams where I was running, and it was so effortless (only in my dreams!). So me, Alison, and Kenzie started meeting at the track and running in the mornings while the dads took care of the sleeping kiddos. We eventually moved our efforts to the neighborhood.

I always said, "I'm not a runner." I always got a stitch in my side. Alison had two tips for running. First, slow down. Then, slow down some more. And literally, this is what helped me. I used my trusty RunKeeper app to pace myself (11:30 minute miles - slow and steady!). She actually had one more tip for running, every once in a while, take a deeper breath in.

So after about 9 weeks of working hard towards the goal of running 5K, I finally had my chance at Rockwall's Rib Rub and Run this past Saturday. I came in 111th out of over 200 participants at 34:07.