C25K -The Mom's Perspective: Week 1, Day 2

Week 1, Day 2:

 

I realize my last blog post left you with a bit of a cliff hanger... I'm sure you were all laying in bed awake at night wondering if in fact I put on my running shoes again.  I know, I'm tricky like that.  Well I'm about to reveal some BIG news:  I did.  I ran a second time.  And here's my step by step account of how it went. (pun intended... get it?  Step by Step... haha.)

 

It got unseasonably warm two days following that first painful run.  Luckily, we are members of the YMCA where they have treadmills and air conditioning, and a pretty comfortable non-judgemental feel that you don't get at a lot of fitness centers.  I was actually less self-conscience running at the Y on the treadmill than I was in my neighborhood in broad daylight.  Maybe because I just stayed in one place.  It also helps that the treadmills are at the front of the exercise room so I didn't have to make eye contact with anyone, or see their raised eyebrows and/or snickering faces when they saw just how much my ass jiggles when I run.

 

Another bonus to running on the treadmill is seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, so to speak.  I know lots of people don't like to watch the digital timers on the exercise equipment, but I find it motivating... I set the clock to count up the first half of my workout, and then switch it to count down the second half.  It's kinda like that whole "running home" methodology that I had on Day 1.

 

So aside from being unbelievably sore all day long before my second actual run, I actually found the 30-minute workout slightly easier.  I am not to the point of saying that it is even a tiny bit enjoyable, and I still am not thinking I'm going to do this again, but it was just a smidge more tolerable.  The setting also helped because I wasn't thinking about those pesky tomato-throwing teenagers, or wondering if my friends would see me bouncing by their kitchen window as they cleaned their dinner dishes.

 

When my workout was finished I went and wiped myself off and hid in the bathroom for a few minutes while I regained consciousness and caught my breath.  Then I stretched.  Just like The Good Athlete said I should.  Then I took a good, long, mental health break in one of the comfy chairs in the lounge while my children played in the nursery while the very sweet (and much more patient) ladies that work there looked after them. (An added perk to working out at the Y... a few extra minutes of peace while someone else deals with your bat-shit crazy kids!)

 

All in all, I'd say Day 2 was a success.  I didn't get quite the same euphoric high that I did from the first day, but it did make me happy to hear my sweet hubby say that he was proud of me for doing it again.  He's so good.  Even still, I have yet to convince myself that I'm going to keep doing this.  I mean seriously... this is crazy.  Right?