Running for Non-Runners

Ok, so at BYU, there is this class called Swimming for Non-Swimmers. I always thought it was a bit of a humorous title for a class, but none the less, knew that I belonged in that class. I never did take it though. I think of it though as I start the next goal in my life, and that is to finally do something about all of the weight that I have gained. Jesse and I are finally putting good use to the jogging stroller; we are going to start running together.
When I graduated from college some 6 years ago I was a nice size 7. It was great. I really enjoyed looking at my flat stomach in the mirror, and well, I was happy about my body. 5 years of marriage and 2 babies later, I am tipping the scales at a tidy size 14. Yikes! How did I ever let it get this bad? (Well, the answer to that is that I am a world champion at being lazy.) I always think, I need to start a diet and start exercising. I even joined the YMCA for a while a few years ago. But money gets tight and so a family gym membership is not in the budget this year, so what is a mother of 2 supposed to do? Graham is still quite needy and has not mastered the art of self entertainment for more than a few minutes at a time. I got the jogging stroller, but then Graham started waking up early and taking an early nap, and Nate started waking up late. So these days Nate is just waking up when Graham is ready for his nap. I know, all weak excuses.
But then Jesse and I decided that we were going to run together when he gets home from work. It is by far not an ideal situation, but it's just about our only option.
The only problem is that I am what I would call a non-runner. It's not that I have never been a runner before, but I don't know that even when I was a "runner," I was actually a "runner." I ran cross country and track in High School, and that was ok. I wasn't really any good at it. Then when I was a freshman in college I had a great roommate who was always up for a run. Mary and I would go running regularly at 11pm or later. But then by Sophomore year we only got together a few times to run, even though we only lived 3 doors apart. And then I just kind of stopped running. I was still active, I would walk to and from campus a few times a day, and stuff like that, but that was the end of my running career.
Then I had Nate and well, running was just not an option for me, my body had forgotten it, and rebelled. I was officially a non-runner. When we joined the Y, I did the bike and the elliptical, not the treadmill. And that brings us to today.
So today was day 1. I was supposed to have quilting tonight, but it got moved to tomorrow night, so we moved our first day up to today from Wednesday. I was a little worried. I told Jesse that he had to run with me, no matter how many times I needed to stop and walk. On my previous attempts I came nowhere close to running a mile. I walked most of the way. Today, however, was different. I had found what I lacked before, a running partner. Just having someone there to witness me being a wimp was enough to motivate me. Today went much better than I had anticipated. We kept a slow easy pace, and I was able to run for much longer and farther than I had ever done before. We did well enough that Jesse talked about signing up for the half marathon this fall. The initial goal is to be in good enough shape to run the Baltimore half marathon next October. Maybe if thing go really well to run the marathon. I mean, what better way is there to get into shape than by training for a marathon? So I don't know about this year, I guess we'll have to see how long it is before I can do a mile without stopping.
So here I am, thrown into a sport I used to semi-enjoy, because let's face it, the only reason I did CC and Track was because it was a family tradition, and no one got cut from the team. We'll see where this takes me. Perhaps it will be easier than I think, and I'll be able to run a half marathon in 3 months. Crazier things have happened. At the very least, I can hope to get into a healthier lifestyle, and maybe lose a few pounds.