running

In spite of the fact that I know I’ve said in the past that I would only be found running in the case of something dangerous chasing me, I’ve taken up running. Or rather, I am currently attempting to complete a program and we’ll see where it goes from there.
I have a few friends who are “runners” and I’ve been amazed by their discipline and tales of the long miles their legs have carried them. I’ve also thought that maybe they were just a bit crazy. And I have a couple of friends who have recently taken up running and I’ve been inspired by their accomplishments. Well, I decided that if they can do it I can do it too.
I’m not talking about a marathon here; the goal is to be able to run for 30 minutes nonstop. So for my friends who do run marathons I imagine that it sounds like nothing, but for someone like me it is a huge challenge. The program I’m following is called “Couch to 5K” and it’s supposed to take you from zero to 30 minutes of running in 9 weeks. The 5K is because it would also be a nice goal to do a distance of 5 kilometers in those 30 minutes, but that’s really not my focus right now. Maybe after the 30 minutes are reached I’ll work on upping the speed. 

Basically you start off in week 1 by running 1 minute at a time with walking breaks in between, then each week the amount of time you run increases bit by bit.  There are podcasts to download for each week and they play music and tell you when to run and when to walk.  You are supposed to do it 3 times a week, but I have these ridiculous over-achiever tendencies and I’ve been going 4-5 times a week.  So now I am in week 7 and I’m up to running for 25 minutes at a time nonstop.  A couple months ago I couldn’t have possibly run for 25 minutes straight, so I feel pretty happy about this.  I take my dog Teddy with me every time and he's pretty happy about it too. 
Here are my ratty old sneakers (or “tennis shoes” for my MN friends, or “trainers” if you speak the Queen’s English) that I am running in.  I count that they are about 5 years old, but they are the only sneakers I have here in Mali.  I have a new pair of actual “running shoes” in the mail from the states and I’m excited for those.  I hope they make it here soon. I remember when I was a kid when I’d get new shoes I felt like I could run faster and jump higher.