Wanted: One Coach

I think I need a coach.  I'm not really getting the hang of this running business.  I try.  Every time I'm out there.  Especially during the first couple of miles.  But no matter what, I can't seem to run very far or very long.

So ... I think I need a coach.  And maybe a weight trainer.  And definitely a nutritionist (well I sort of have one of those but I need to talk to her more often).  

Today was a perfect day to be outside and I walked eight miles.  There was not much running after the first mile.  Which isn't to say I ran a mile.  I did not--not even close.  But after the spurts of running in the first mile, there was only walking.  Pretty fast walking but it's just walking.  Occasionally I sprint around a slower walker to get past them and I'll run until I think I'm out of their view so they'll believe they've been passed by a runner.  Fooled them! 

But I don't fool me.  The running is not coming easily at all.  I realize that it's something that a person needs to work at, just like anything else, to become good.  It's just that I have a nagging feeling I'm never going to be good at it.  That nagging feeling is holding me back.  

Today while walking I was thinking it over.  I hadn't eaten very many calories today.  My weight watcher's log showed only "4 points" by 4 PM which isn't much (that was 2 ounces of turkey at lunch and 2/3 cup fat free cottage cheese at breakfast).  There was food all day of course, but fruit and veggies are all zeros now on weight watchers.  Which means you can eat a lot of them.  And I do.  But there were no carbs today (other than the fruit) and I think I maybe needed some to sustain the running.  Hello nutritionist? Can you help me figure this out?

I also was thinking about weight training for strength.  I'm probably not as strong as I was before I gained the weight when I became a mostly sedentary person.  I should probably work out with weights to try to improve that.  Or maybe pushups ... no, definitely not doing pushups.  Hello weight trainer?  I have no clue how to do this.

So where's my coaching team?

Oh wait ... here's another thought:  I don't like running.  Really, I don't like it.  It's not enjoyable.  I need my running friends to explain the attraction.

When I'm running my head is all about the running.  You can do this.  Go to the next driveway.  You can make it to that mailbox.  Training.  Training.  Run to the telephone pole. Run to the next one.  You can do this.  It's a running dialogue (pun unavoidable) of self-encouragement.  Even that is exhausting.

When I walk, I relax.  I take in everything I see and hear.  I notice all the little changes in my neighborhood, in the parks and on the trails where I walk.  I listen to the lyrics of the music that I'm listening to and I'm not just depending on the rhythm to keep me going.  I go into an energizing revery that really feeds me.  It's a zen-like feeling and I love it.

But what is life without a good challenge?  I want to run in a local 5K.  It happens in October each year so I have a fair amount of time to improve myself at running.  I just want to do this one thing:  Finish that 5K running.  I walked it last year with a bunch of friends and that was fun.  But this year I really want to run.  I do.

But that doesn't mean I have to like it.