Run, Debra, Run!

I'm trying something new.  Something that's so completely out of my comfort zone.  I have always admired runners, but I never thought I would even try to do it, because I hate that feeling when my chest begins to burn and I can't run another step, when I get so nauseous and I feel so darn weak.

I took the leap though on Monday and started with 4 minutes of brisk walking, and 1 minute of running, and alternating that for 30 minutes.  Gosh, I thought I was fit - man I can dance fast-pace for an hour without even batting an eye... but after just 50 seconds of running I thought that I was going to die.  I managed the 60 seconds every time though and the 4 minutes walking was just about enough recovering time.

I'm planning to follow this programme - I have just altered the first week to include the minute of running instead of walking slow/fast.

I found a nice app called Runtastic for my phone.  With GPRS it tracks my route, times me and calculate the distance I go.  On Monday I did 3.26 km in about 34  minutes.  An average of 10:23 minutes per kilometer - I think that's a terrible pace, but now I know I have something to work with and I can try and better myself every time.

I'm a bit scared to run on my own, because we live in a new development area, so there's a lot of bush and open area, so I plan to go each day at 16:30 when the traffic picks up as everyone returns home after work.  Also need to get exercise pants with pockets so I can take my pepper spray with me.

Looking forward to tonight to give this a second go!  Excited about this new challenge, I think it's just what I need to raise the bar a bit.