So here's my story. 56 Years old PE teacher. Knew I was out of shape but did nothing for years. At the end of last year two students affected me. One said "how come you say 'you can do it' when you can't". Another as they were leaving on the last day said "don't die on us". I know that she was kidding but it still hit home. It was a great group of kids and was one of hardest starts to the summer. Went from June until July to realize I needed to do something. Since we live by a High School, not in the district I work, I decided to start running. Started on July 2, 2017. Would go out and run two miles, tried to do the first non stop and the second run 200-300 and walk 100. First day 1st mile 11:57 and 2nd 12:25. I would run every day for a few, take a day off and then run again but had no routine. I also added in about 1000yds of strides, 100 yards where I would start as a jog and accelerate to top speed at about 40 for about 20 then decelerate for the rest of the 100. (I still do this every few days mixing in crunches and push ups in between sprints). I did this until 7/31 (21 total days) when I went on vacation, I did not run for 14 days.
I returned home and started running again on my own until I found C25k podcasts. I started listening to them and figured since I was already running I would start on Week 5 Run 1 on 8/17. Damn near died but got through it. I then ran a Mile for time the next day 8/18 with a time of 8:35. I have kept up with the program, sometimes I still run a mile for time the day after and then take off a day for rest. Last mile 9/10 finished in 7:36, not blazing by any standards but a big improvement.
Tomorrow, 9/18/17. I will be finishing my last run of the program.
Week 9 Run 1 9/12... 3.01 Miles ave pace 9:35
Week 9 Run 2 9/14... 3.43 Miles ave pace 8:44
Many times I felt like not getting up and not running or just stopping during the run because my legs burned like hell. But I will finish. Added benefit is that I have dropped about 25 pounds during that time. I will also be competing in my first 5k mud run next weekend. At 56 I never thought I could complete this but I made it my personal goal to do it. Anyone can if you stick to it. Life is too short.
***Update*** Completed the final run today 9/18/17. 3.55 miles 30 minutes.
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credding
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Wow that's an amazing story, thank you so much for sharing. And big congratulations. I love that you're not thinking about what the kids will think of you now, but about what you will do now.
I've written about my PE teachers who laughed at me... the connection I'd not made until I read your story is that they were really out of shape themselves. I'm going to project your story onto them, and imagine that they went on to do something wonderful like this for themselves.
Again, you're amazing. Well done! And enjoy your final run tomorrow!
Big respect! Nothing like kids to teach you your own truths is there? The c25k casts and this group have changed the way I live my life. Congratulations on stepping up and making these changes. You've done something huge for yourself here.
You know that you are the stuff of nightmares to so many on this forum, who were put off sport of any kind by the merciless PE teachers in their past.
Don't take that personally, but there must be something wrong with physical education that participation in sport has not increased since the Olympics and that so many start this programme saying they don't like running, only to become hooked on non competitive running within weeks of starting.
I enjoyed cross country running at school, accompanied for the first section on the old railway line, by our PE teacher on his bike, invariably with a cigarette in his mouth. I wasn't particularly good, so wasn't encouraged and didn't run again after leaving school until I found C25K four years ago, at the age of 57. Within a few sessions, I too was hooked, but what a waste of those intervening years.
Why do so many kids leave school with an aversion to exercise? I know peer pressure plays a big part, but so many doing this plan say they wish they had discovered running years ago, so it is within most of us to love strenuous physical exercise. I love the inclusive, all embracing, supportive and self competitive ethos of parkrun, thinking that surely it could be adapted for use in schools.
Sorry to bother you with my rambling, but it is an issue I feel passionate about and you are at the sharp end.
Congratulations on your honesty and your success in reviving yourself. It is so easy to slip into unfitness and actually relatively easy to slip back out again with the help of brilliant, life changing programmes like C25K.
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