From Couch Potato to 5K...hopefully

So while we had all this time on our hands, here in the south of France, we decided it was time to get a little disciplined, time to pursue some of our exercise-related goals. Surprisingly, the dawn of a new year had nothing to do with our new-found passion for healthy living, it was just a coincidence in timing. Well, the grueling program has found me aching, fighting cramps and soreness and a generally weary body. And we’re only on day two. Seriously, though, for the first time in my life I feel like my age is catching up with me. Now don’t get me wrong, I realize I’m not an old geezer yet. I’m just a shade under 26 and that’s by no means a ripe old age. However, since starting our new running plan I do feel a few steps closer to the top of that infamous ‘Hill.’ I feel old because I am now forced to look back on the days when I could go out, run a few miles and not feel it the next day. When Whitney first broached the subject of getting ourselves into shape, I was a little hesitant. When she detailed the program of choice, the aptly named “Couch Potato to 5K Workout,” I became even more skeptical. This gradual, easy starting, fluff-of-a-routine wasn’t for me, I declared, I wasn’t to the point in my life where squeezing in a half hour jog was going to kill me. Or was I? The first day, and by ‘day’ I mean 20 minutes of an on-again-off-again jog/walk interval, left me literally hobbling home. My knee throbbed, my arms and legs were weary and I was ready for bed. The following day was a rest day, and thank the good Lord, cause I needed it. Again, my overconfidence at my recovery time rendered me a fool and I staggered out of bed in the morning, sore in places I didn’t know I had and definitely didn’t know I needed to be able to run. The following day, today, was day number two of the routine. Identical to number one it was just as simple and seemingly as ‘easy’ as the first. Working out for me has, for the first time, become a humbling experience. I am no longer invincible. From now on I will, or so it seems, think twice before dashing out the door for a quick jog, or hopping on a treadmill for a lunch break workout. However, I also think that with this change comes thoughts and wisdom and action that would have been out of place in my younger self. I am starting to want to be an adult. I desire responsibility and regularity and consistency. I want to settle in to a neighborhood where people know me and count on me. I want a job that I do well and do it for a long time. I want a family who looks to me as their support and knows that they can count on me. Every day I pray that I can fill this role as well as I hope and if I can, I’ll take a pulled hamstring or a throbbing knee any day.