7/8/08

New Fitness Goal

I feel that I work better with my workouts if I have a goal I can work towards. This summer I've been trying to lose some extra weight and I've been doing alright, but not as good as I had planned. I had heard numerous times that running is probably the easiest way to shed pounds and Tony had recently written an article in his magazine about marathon runners so I decided to research. I've learned a lot about running and found a program for non-runners to pre-train for a 5K. I started yesterday and I must say I'm kind of nervous. Not because the program is difficult (for the first week you just walk briskly for 30 minutes, haha) but because I'm afraid that I won't stick with it! I'm so excited about thinking about running a 5K and working my way up possibly to a marathon and I really want to get there.

This program I found on runnersplanet.com is perfect for me. It starts you off just walking for 30 minutes for the first couple of weeks with only a little jogging mixed in here and there. By the end of the program I should be able to run 3-4 miles easily. For someone who hates running, I'm pretty excited about that!

One interesting obstacle I've discovered with this running program is my feet. I have very flat feet. Walking around a pool or 7 Peaks, everyone else's foot prints show the ball and heel of their foot, while mine is this huge blob looking thing. I researched flat feet and ended up buying some shoe inserts for arch stability. It turns out that when people with flat feet run, their feet roll inwards towards where the arch is supposed to be, while most people run on the balls of their feet. This causes shin splints, cramps, etc. So, like I said, I bought little sport inserts. I tried them out last night and my feet are killing me!! It felt like I had rocks in my shoes! These are going to take some getting used to.

Now that I've posted my running goal for all to see, it will be somewhat embarassing if I drop out now! Hopefully I'll stick with this and not get discouraged. Any suggestions?

4 comments:

  1. Go to some kind of running store (I recommend Runner's Corner in Orem by Costco) they can watch you run and recommend a good shoe for you foot. They make all kinds to fix problems such as yours. I have foot issues too but the right shoes really help:)

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  2. Well ya a lot of them are expensive, I would say they range from $70-$100. Sometimes tgey can recommend some shoes and you can find them online somewhere for cheaper.

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  3. I am going to have to check out that website! It sounds really neat. Good luck with your goal!

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  4. Good luck with your running goals! My only advice is that if you start having pain as you run I would look for another way to exercise. Because of a knee problem I have the doctors have told me not to run on it anymore because you can do a whole lot of harm by running when things aren't working quite right. So just keep that in mind!

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