Running along Oriental Parade (10th December 2010)

I can’t believe I’m actually trying to get into the habit of running...Frankly, I’ve never liked running as a fitness activity (though I seem to enjoy 100m and 200m x 4 relay runs in highschool…) – it’s just so hard on the knees! But when money’s tight (near breaking the bank with all the Christmas gift-shopping), I have to find other cheaper means of exercise and running is literally free as you can do it anywhere. Well, I guess I’ve got no choice but to give it a go and hopefully like it once my body gets used to it...

So I did a bit of research on the internet and found About.com Running & Jogging which had loads of information on running including proper running form (landing midfoot, relaxed hands and shoulders, straight and erect posture) and running schedules for various running levels and goals. I selected the 3 weeks to a 30-minute Running Habit plan which I reckon would be a good start to get my body used to running and eventually able to run non-stop for the whole 30 minutes.

Day 1 of the plan had me running for 1 minute then walking for the next minute, alternating for 20 minutes in total with 5-10 minutes warm-up and cool-down at the start and end. I did the run along Oriental Parade all the way towards the road leading to Roseneath and U-turn back – nice view of Oriental Bay though the northerly winds were pretty strong and I was unable to open my eyes at times to see where I was going. And having to work harder running against the wind! Grr, the wind can be SO annoying sometimes...

I was somewhat surprised I could manage the running part (I had expected my body to retaliate with muscle spasms but it didn’t – huh, so I’m not as bad in shape as I thought!) and actually felt a great sense of accomplishment when I completed the 20-minute running session :) Knees feel ok so far but we’ll find out tomorrow if they hurt post-running. Hopefully little to no pain and I can continue the run plan next week!