It’s the beginning of a new month and for those of you who follow me on Instagram, you know that I have been posting daily pics of different yoga poses for the challenges I was a part of in the months of March and April. For those of you who don’t yet follow me you can do so at lean_lisa and follow my journey. For the month of May I have decided to try something different…running!! Although I continue to teach and practice yoga, now that the weather is getting warmer, I figured it was time to get outside and enjoy the fresh air and what better way than to do it by running?
Like everything else in life, if you don’t use it, you lose it! This morning, as I took in the beautiful, fresh, spring air, preparing for my run, it hit me…and it hit me HARD! I let the entire long winter pass by without even realizing how much time I had spent away from running. Sure I jumped on the treadmill every once in a while at the gym or in my basement as I watched Kelly and Michael on the tube, but what I had failed to do each time I got on that treadmill was to set goals. I would just set my timer for 30 minutes and away I would go. Sometimes I ran, sometimes I walked, sometimes I did a bit of both, but without a particular goal in mind, there really was no reason for me to improve. If you haven’t read my Setting Yourself Up for Success blog I posted last week about the importance of goal setting, you might want to do that now!
Today I set myself a new goal. I want to be able to run 5km in under a half hour. That may seem like nothing to you avid runners out there, but for me, it’s a big deal and to be able to achieve that would be huge. I suffer from arthritis and my joints get sore very quickly, not to mention my poor hamstrings which I keep trying to lengthen through my yoga practice. So needless to say, long distance running is not part of any of my goal setting ;). Last year I got pretty close to achieving my current goal, but I was never able to cut my time under 30 minutes. If I had continued my progress indoors on the treadmill then I might not be in this position right now but I am not in the habit of crying over spilled milk so I look ahead. This year is going to be different! I am determined. My daughter is part of her school’s Girls on the Run program again this year and her 5km run will be at the end of next month. Although it’s not a race, I have decided to let that date be my personal goal deadline. I will complete 5km in under 30 minutes before the end of June. There, I said it. Now I have made myself accountable to all of you so I can’t give up even if I try.
So this is my starting point. Today I ran 5km in 37 minutes and 10 seconds. I ran for 2-3 minutes at a time and would then walk for a minute and I repeated that pattern throughout (not including my warm up and cool down). So now I have about 7 weeks to shave 7 minutes off my time. That is 1 minute per week. I think that is doable right? I am planning to run 2-3 times per week. For any of you runners out there that can help me I would really appreciate any advice you could offer on improving my pace. Your helpful comments are welcome here on this page, on Instagram or even on my public Facebook page.
For any of you interested in starting any sort of running program, I highly recommend downloading this app called RunKeeper. It is a great way of tracking your progress. It times your runs and records your distance and average speed. It’s a handy tool to have by your side while on your run.
So join me as I begin my running journey. Follow my progress and help me reach my goal and if any of you are interested in joining me we can run together either in person or online by connecting on RunKeeper. See you at the finish line!
Until next time,
Have a fit and fabulous day!
Lisa Pisano
Lifestyle Coach
