Another Big Idea

Every so often, I get a Big Idea. Occasionally they're doable - usually they become pleasant, somewhat outrageous memories. Today my Big Idea is that I am going to start running. I've never run before, because I have congenitally gimpy feet - Symptomatic Tarsal Nevicular, for those of you taking notes - which basically means my ankles are super-pronated and I was born with one extra bone in each of my feet. After my senior year of high school I had the left one removed. It didn't help much. Plus, and this is no small issue (literally), there's the unhappy vision of what I must look like running. Oh, don't try to picture it. Think of something else. And I hate the feeling that I can't breathe, oh, I'm dying, ouch, more sweat, how do people do this???

So, despite the obvious challenges, I am going to try. If people hike Mount Everest blind, or with no legs, surely I can run a little bit.

I found a plan online that sounds easy in practice called the Couch-to-5K Running Plan. It involves increasingly difficult intervals of walking and running that ultimately ends up in running for about 25 minutes. I tried it for the first time last night. (As close to dark as possible, naturally!). At first it wasn't so bad - I was running at a not-embarrassing pace and didn't have side stitches or unbearable knee pain. As I went on, though, it was harder. By the last running interval my feet barely left the pavement. It was embarrassingly slow. But my goal wasn't to whip around like an Olympic sprinter; I just wanted to actually COMPLETE the program for the day. And I did. Yep, my knees had a hard time dragging me upstairs to bed, and my back sort of hurt, but I can walk and function. Hooray! I do the same rotation tomorrow.

And if I ever DO become a "runner" (take that, Mr. Orthopedic Surgeon!), I will run the Walt Disney World Half Marathon. NOT the regular one, because let's face it, 26+ miles?

On a related note: I have discovered (to my chagrin) chocolate-covered pretzels. How did these remain hidden from me for so long? They are delicious, and less than 30% fat. Ed Wasiura says manna tasted like my grandmother's Parker House rolls. I say it tasted exactly like chocolate-covered pretzels. This point of doctrine is open for speculation.