In Which I, Like Peter, Deny My Faith

OK, so I'm back to the measuring again. I thought it sounded good when I wrote it, but I haven't kept it up. I haven't kept anything up, actually. But I didn't bring the iPod this morning, so that's something.

Today I began the 13-week program outlined in the book that Melissa mentioned back when she was fighting her hatred of running. What, you may wonder, sold me on it? Was it her glowing endorsement of bloody nipples and diarrhea? No, surprisingly, it was not. It was mostly that it was a beginner's book that had neither "Dummies" nor "Idiots" in the title. And the fact that she said, "There it was in black and white what I needed to do to become a runner and I sort of started to feel like a runner."

The thought of feeling like a runner appealed to me. I've never felt like a runner. When I run, my chubby bits bounce embarrassingly, I breathe noisily, and the air huffs out of me noticeably on each footfall. My knees sound like a bowl of Kellogg's® Rice Krispies® when I walk up stairs, too, and I didn't think pounding all of my weight down on them over and over again would help that much.

And so, because I over-intellectualize everything I do, I got a book. I got two, actually. The second is this book hoping it might help with the knee thing. I haven't read it yet, though. If ChiRunning appeals to me in the same way that yoga does, it will probably mean I never actually do it. Despite my conservative, North Austin suburban veneer, I have South Austin hippie leanings like a strong yearning to practice yoga. But somehow I never actually find a way to fit it into my life. Just like veganism.

Which brings me back to running. I started today, and immediately these two thoughts came to mind: 1) wow, it sure is dark and quiet at 5:15 a.m. 2) wow, it sure is humid here.

I'll resist the temptation to use this space as the "running journal" the book encourages runners to keep. But I'll let you know how it goes. Today's status: Session 1 of Week 1 complete. Weight, 250 lbs. Total time: 35 minutes. Total running time: 3 1/2 minutes.