Can a leopard change its spots?

Maybe.

The running thing is starting to work out, but it hasn’t been without it’s hurdles (metaphorical ones that is).  As I mentioned before I’ve got this 0 to 5K app on my cell phone that tells me when to walk and when to run.  It’s been almost 8 weeks and I should be close to the 5K without stopping but I’m stuck on week 5.  Thankfully the program allows me to re-run legs that I’ve already completed and because I’ve found week 5 very hard, I keep repeating the runs.  They jump from 5 minutes to 8 then 10 without giving me a chance to build up.  While that might not seem so long (and it’s not for me on the treadmill where I can go for almost a half-hour without a break), my self-consciousness about outside running makes my breathing less efficient and therefore I can’t get as far without a break.  So, I did what everybody who has a problem that needs solving does, and turned to the internet and a running forum for people like me.

I’ve discovered that many people have a phobia about running outside, and just as many would never consider running on a treadmill.  I no longer felt alone with my phobia and took some comfort in the thought that I’m running past other outside-running-phobics until I realized that many of them wouldn’t dare run outside because of their phobias.  So, I run outside with the treadmill-phobics, disguising my fear and pretending not to be breathing so hard.  On bad weather days, I run inside with outdoor-running phobics, gleefully completing my half-hour with little discomfort.  Clearly I’m spending too much time caring about this and should just run.

I’ve tried putting that all aside and figuring out if there is a mechanical reason to my struggles outdoors. While I’ve been fairly diligent in keeping with the program, I’ve screwed up here and there which has had no small influence on my progress.  I’ve learned two things:  when they tell us newbies to take a day off in-between, that means we need to take a day to let the muscles heal and rest.  Twice I’ve tried running two days in a row and what a mistake that was.  While I managed to get through the course, I stopped way more often.  The next two days my legs felt like lead, which in turn made me breath harder and run slower.  Secondly, twice during that first stab at week 5 I forgot to stretch after the run.  While I’m pretty diligent in getting in that after-run walking cool-down because it gives me a chance to walk the dog, I often forget to stretch, which makes my legs feel stiff and heavy the next day.

So, here I am at the end of March and I’m sticking with it.  I keep tabs on all of my food with Fitness Pal and also record my progress.  Down 12 pounds, a couple of inches, and feeling good.

When you see me running by, look the other way,  ‘kay?