There she goes.....off and running....

Off and running again. Perhaps it was WDC and the reunion trip that got me started. Maybe it was the fact that I love to eat and hate dieting. Whatever the reason, I am determined to get back into running.

Who am I kidding? I never ran. Even when I was on the crew at USC, I rode my bike behind the rowers as they circled the campus jogging at wee hours in the morning. My running joke with friends was that I would start running when someone started chasing me. Well, that day never came.

There is something rather intriguing about jogging. From my beginner's perspective, as shallow, innocent and naive it may be, I don't get it. Allegedly there is a runner's high to be had. With the current drug testing philosophy at the company, that's all the high I can get these days but it just isn't coming. The nirvana that true runners feel must come much, much later. Here's my experience:

Week 1:

Completely motivated to get into running shape with hallucinations of running in 5K's for fun, laughing about running mis-adventures with other running enthusiasts. I am so confident that I will be a runner for life that I buy a cute running skirt to give me incentive to keep going. One day I just woke up and said "Today's the day," much like it happens with my hair appointments. Running shoes on the feet, head band on the hair and to the tread we go. Realistically I know that it will have to be a slow gradual process 5 minutes walk, 5 minutes run and then repeat for 2 miles.

What was I thinking? My knee hurt, my heart was about to beat out of my body, sweat was pouring out of edifices that I didn't even know I had. No matter. I pushed through and kept going. Somehow, as boring as it was, there were actually 2 different occasions in the week. Where was that high? When do I stop counting 1,2,3,4 over and over to keep my pace?

Week 2:

I think I started out too aggressively. Three cheers to Runners World and the "Couch to 5K" program. This week I am on the Mon-Wds-Fri plan to follow that to the tee. I do feel a little lighter on my toes though. But that could also be lack of proper nutrition after a weekend of concerts and playing with the girls