So my dumb-ass decided that since I quit smoking in October 2010, and as a result had gained back all the weight I'd lost up to that point I was going to start changing the way I eat, and was going to get more exercise. I didn't want to just walk my dogs because, well... Let's be honest - Walker doesn't let us walk him so much as he drags us where ever the hell he wants to go. Sometimes that's down the sidewalk, other times it's into oncoming traffic. (For a medium sized dog he's freakishly strong.) No - walking wasn't for me. I was going to transform myself into a runner.
I'm such an idiot.
I have never been a runner. Except that time in Middle school when I decided that I was going to participate in Track. That lasted all of 1 month and 3 meets. Even in High School when we'd have to "run" the mile in gym class I'd walk it refusing to run.
In my defense I have dislocated both knees several times. I can no longer sit "Indian Style" on the floor because my knees don't bend that way anymore. There have been times that I have simply turned a corner and my knee has dislocated. This has something to do with the fact that the tendons and ligaments that hold my kneecap in place are stretched out from popping out so many times.
Yes, I'm an idiot.
I had heard about this program called Couch to 5K. According to the website if you follow their program they will prepare you to run a 5k in as little as 2 months. I have a cousin who followed this program after a serious bout with colon cancer and she swears by it. I have an uncle who also followed the program using his dog as his training partner. Finally I have a friend who is in week 3 or 4 of this program and is all about it. I figured that if they can do it so can I.
I know myself enough to know that if I'm doing any sort of exercise that requires commitment in any way shape or form, I must have someone who will make me accountable. In steps my friend Jessie. She is huge into running for "fun". (Note to self: Be leery of anyone who runs for "fun". They're not sane.) Bottom line is she decided that we're not going to follow the Couch to 5K program we're just going to run. I only ran two days last week and Sunday of this week and I think I have done permanent and irreparable damage to my knees. They hurt so bad even today - Wednesday - that I have to make an appointment with my orthopedic doctor. I can't sleep and I can't hardly walk with out excruciating pain radiating from my knee to my ankle. The weird thing is that my knee feels better when it's bent than when it's straight, and the pain isn't in my kneecap so much as right below where the bones end and the joint begins.
Couch to 5K program:
You work your way into running by walking for 1 1/2 minutes then running for 1 and repeating that for 30 minutes slowly increasing your running time, and decreasing your walking time over the course of 8 weeks. (Or something very close to that.)
Jessie's Program:
Make Erin run balls out for a mile and back, and every time Erin decides that she's dying yell at her like a Drill Sergent and call her a pussy.
I told her she broke me. In honesty, Jess wasn't that bad (yes she was), but she didn't like to hear me say that I was hurting, and insisted that I was just a newbie. That my pain was temporary, and a rite of passage for all runners. According to her if I could talk then I was ok.
So, yeah. I'm an idiot. I should have known better.
No comments:
Post a Comment