(This
will be a weekly contribution by my friend, the 6x6 Runner.)
Since
age 16, I’ve considered myself a recreational runner. I jog when I feel like
it, never for long or far. I would occasionally go in spurts, running every day
for many miles, but those spurts never seemed to last longer than a couple weeks.
Upon
joining the working world, I have found myself at a sedentary job where the
only chance of exercise is going downstairs to the printer. That 30 steps of
activity is just not enough for me, so I am committing myself to running. I
expressed my desire to be considered a “real” runner to my friend, the author
of this blog. Mollie told me her theory that in order to really try running,
one must run for six weeks, six days a week. When starting a new routine,accountability
is important. So
that is my challenge – 6 days x 6 weeks, and this weekly column to keep myself
accountable.
So
here’s the Plan:
I ran
the first week, six days out of the week. By the time the first week was over,
I had Mollie write a running plan for me, for the next four weeks. Mollie said
that depending on how that goes, she will write the last week of the running
plan. In celebration, we are both going to run a 5K
in Washington, DC on September 12th!
So
far, 11 days into the running plan, everything is going smoothly. The most
challenging day has been the five-mile day (mylong
run). I
was grateful to hit many stoplights and therefore had the excuse of stopping
and waiting before the traffic cleared. I look forward to an easier
five-mile run next time around – it should get easier as I get in shape, right?
The next two days have been two mile and 1.5 mile runs. Both have been easy and
I’ve been able to do both in the morning. I know myself and I know that the
real challenge will come with running on Fridays. I love going to happy hour!
If I stay out late on Thursday, I’ll be too tired to run in the morning on
Friday. Friday after work, the temptation to be social is much more potent than
the temptation to go home and run. But I have committed to this, so I will
resist and go running on Friday.
Another
challenge will come with my vacation schedule in August. I’m going to my home
state of Michigan for the first time in nine months in September, and my
cousin’s commitment ceremony at the end of August. Running
on vacation has
never been easy. But again, 6x6 is the plan – no excuses!
I
look forward to updating everyone with my running progress and I really can’t
wait till I develop running stories. I have a runner friend who’s boyfriend
proposed to her on a run. Another friend was jogging and another runner passed
her, turned around and flirtatiously winked at her- it was James Franco! I’m
not saying the only reason I want to run is for the stories, they’ll simply a
pleasant bonus.
So
until next week, I remain your faithful runner,
6x6
