The other day I did my longest run to date, and today I repeated that same run. I'm still following the C25k program to work on building up a good 3 mile running base. Keep in mind that I am a beginning runner...so my long run was warm up, 4 minute run, 2 minute walk, 6 minute run, 2 minute walk, 4 minute run, 2 minute walk, cool down. Sixteen total minutes of running. Before this run, the longest I'd run consecutively was 3 minutes, and that was only one time during a whole workout. I was definitely a little skeptical before I did this workout for the first time, and I'm proud to say that I did it twice! Turns out that this little program knows what it's doing.
Right now I do most of my running in the gym on the treadmill...or as I like to call it, the hamster wheel. This is largely due to my crazy schedule, the weather, and the fact that our neighborhood is full of crazy hills. Sometimes on the weekends I like to go to the park to run, but this doesn't always happen. While I'm grateful to have a gym with nice treadmills, running in the gym can be so intimidating. One, gyms are usually full of mirrors. I don't know why this is. Can you think of a single (normal) person who enjoys watching themselves workout? I know I don't. And they usually line the treadmills up along a mirrored wall, so you get the lovely angle of watching yourself from the side. Brutal.
The other reason gyms are intimidating are the people. The super fit, athletic people that I know are judging me for not being fully in shape. I seriously hate having to run next to a super fit person who is awesome at running. Today I'm in Philadelphia for work, and so I did my workout at the gym at the Philly Marriott. It's a pretty big gym for a hotel, and there are three rows of three treadmills. Lucky me, when I got there the only open treadmill was the middle treadmill in the middle row. Right in the center. Every other treadmill was occupied by a young, fit guy who had been running for approximately ten hours without getting winded. My first instinct upon seeing this? Leave. What if these guys thought I was a pathetic runner? What if they noticed that I was winded after five minutes of running? What if they were laughing at me in their heads?
Well, I didn't leave. I stayed, and I did my whole run. And I feel great! The reality of it is that those 8 guys surrounding me on their treadmills probably barely noticed me. When you're not fit, it's hard to feel like you belong in the gym. Well, I need to remember that that's ridiculous. No one ever got in shape by walking in the gym and walking right out. What matters right now is that I stick with my program, and I'm happy to say that I did just that!
I know EXACTLY how you feel. Damn those fit people...but you're right, most of them are too wrapped up in their own thing to worry about you.
ReplyDeleteAlso, my mom likes mirrors when she is working out. She wants to turn the downstairs room in her house into a workout room and she plans to put mirrors on the walls. When I asked her why, she said so she can make sure she has correct form. I'd be ok without having correct form if that meant I didn't have to stare at myself while I'm running...
I could be wrong, but those people probably think at least she's trying. They would have thought worse of you if you walked out. I'm proud of you. :)
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