Dylan Armajani: Run Past Your Goals and Find Yourself
'I Have 20 Times The Energy I Used To Have'
Fit Factor: From couch potato to runner?
Posted on Feb 15th 2008 6:00AM by Martha EdwardsFor years, I've envied runners. They're lean and graceful and fit. But there's more to it than that. I've always wanted to be one of them, even since Junior High.
Let me explain: I went to a school where track and field was the main event, the top sport. We had to run lines and hills every day after school and we were classed into groups -- As were the best runners, followed by Bs and Cs and, well, you get the point. I was in group F--and it was the absolute bottom of the totem pole. It's not all my fault--I was born with bad knees and asthma and running a minute was about all I could do before turning purple and collapsing with a whimper. But all the popular, athletic kids were, of course, in the A group and though I feigned the teenage too-cool-to-care attitude, I did care. I wanted to be a runner.
And I've never been a runner. Until now.A few months ago, I decided I wanted to run. After all, I'm the type of person who cases goals. So I talked to my doctor, started researching stretches and strengthening exercises I could do to improve my knees, and re-filled the asthma prescription I had let fall to the wayside. I started small -- my goal was only to run for five minutes, then walk for two, then run for five again and continue that pattern. But armed with the tools to become a runner and the determination to become one too, it wasn't long before I was running for longer amounts of time. Now I'm running two miles every other day and I won't say it's effortless, but it's not a struggle and I feel great.
Though I didn't do an official running program, I'm doing something similar to the Couch to 5k programs you hear about all the time. The premise is simple: get off the couch and get moving, and become a runner by taking it slow. You can move outside or inside on the treadmill, and though most people try to start a running routine with a bang, the key here is to take it slow -- start off jogging just a little bit and work your way up.
How little? In your first week, you should alternate between jogging for 60 seconds and walking for 90 seconds. Do this for 20 minutes. Sounds easy, huh? The second week involves jogging for 90 seconds and walking for 2 minutes for a total of 20 minutes. Not bad. Want to know how much running the other weeks involve? Read the full workout by clicking here.
The goal is to have you running 3 miles in just over two months -- nine weeks to be precise. It's advised that you don't skip ahead but rather follow the program as directed.
Are you destined to be a runner? You'll never know unless you try. As for me, I am loving my new activity. You might too.
Let me explain: I went to a school where track and field was the main event, the top sport. We had to run lines and hills every day after school and we were classed into groups -- As were the best runners, followed by Bs and Cs and, well, you get the point. I was in group F--and it was the absolute bottom of the totem pole. It's not all my fault--I was born with bad knees and asthma and running a minute was about all I could do before turning purple and collapsing with a whimper. But all the popular, athletic kids were, of course, in the A group and though I feigned the teenage too-cool-to-care attitude, I did care. I wanted to be a runner.
And I've never been a runner. Until now.A few months ago, I decided I wanted to run. After all, I'm the type of person who cases goals. So I talked to my doctor, started researching stretches and strengthening exercises I could do to improve my knees, and re-filled the asthma prescription I had let fall to the wayside. I started small -- my goal was only to run for five minutes, then walk for two, then run for five again and continue that pattern. But armed with the tools to become a runner and the determination to become one too, it wasn't long before I was running for longer amounts of time. Now I'm running two miles every other day and I won't say it's effortless, but it's not a struggle and I feel great.
Though I didn't do an official running program, I'm doing something similar to the Couch to 5k programs you hear about all the time. The premise is simple: get off the couch and get moving, and become a runner by taking it slow. You can move outside or inside on the treadmill, and though most people try to start a running routine with a bang, the key here is to take it slow -- start off jogging just a little bit and work your way up.
How little? In your first week, you should alternate between jogging for 60 seconds and walking for 90 seconds. Do this for 20 minutes. Sounds easy, huh? The second week involves jogging for 90 seconds and walking for 2 minutes for a total of 20 minutes. Not bad. Want to know how much running the other weeks involve? Read the full workout by clicking here.
The goal is to have you running 3 miles in just over two months -- nine weeks to be precise. It's advised that you don't skip ahead but rather follow the program as directed.
Are you destined to be a runner? You'll never know unless you try. As for me, I am loving my new activity. You might too.
