Sunday, February 5, 2012

Turning Over a New Leaf

The headline sounds rather serious. Well I guess it is.
Sue and I decided that it was time to get healthy and cut out a bad habit that was sure to kill us eventually.
Yup, we quit smoking and have been smoke free now for 38 days. I will say that it has been easier that I thought it would, considering we did it cold turkey.
Part of the "new leaf" thing is to get into better shape as well.
So, I am running. Yes, you read that right, I am running.
Now, I have always HATED running, but for some reason, I am really enjoying it now. Our two fine sons and their beautiful wives are all runners so I think their "habit" has rubbed off on me.
I am going about this in an entirely different way. I am not out to be competitive or break any records. I just plug away and go at my own speed.
I am using an app on my iPhone called Ease into 5k. A voice comes through the phone telling you just what to do and for how long. It starts out with walking and running and increases the amount of running bit by bit until you are running the entire time. GPS is built in so you can see how far you have gone and how much time it took. It works out well. I listen to my favorite tunes and when the app needs to tell me something it mutes the music.
My time per mile is very slow, but I am able to go the distance without resting or falling over.
At the end of eight weeks I should be running the entire time as opposed to the run-walk routine that I know follow.