Baby Steps

Last October I decided I wanted to start running. I admit it….I was after the endorphins.  I wanted to tap into that “runner’s high” I have heard about all of these years.  I started talking about running and “putting it out there.”  “Ask and you shall receive,” Right?  While enjoying a festive holiday meal in our Sukkah, My friend Dorit started talking about her running. She was fixing (Texas word meaning getting ready) to run her very first half marathon, and she was ON FIRE!  I told my sister Leslie (who has completed a few marathons, half marathons and sprint triathalons over the last 10 years) that I wanted to start running. An AMAZON box arrived at my door 4 days later with a book from her about training for your first half-marathon!  I reached out to ANYONE who would talk to me about running and am so grateful that one of those people was Chad Larson.  An IronMan triathlete and a real “menstch” Chad put me on a schedule to follow. First week?  Five minute walk followed by cycles of 1 minute of jogging and 2 minutes of walking for a total of 20 minutes. It was hard for me to be willing to take BABY STEPS, but Chad insisted that I needed to TRAIN not only my legs, but my lungs. So baby steps, baby steps and little by little my distances increased.  I decided to let go of my ego and avoid injuries and I adopted the Run-Walk-Run method by Jeff Galloway. I walk for a minute every 4 or 5 minutes and and last Friday I ran 11 miles! On May 5th I will G-d willing run my first half-marathon! Come cheer me on at http://www.heelsandhills.com.  BABY STEPS!