December 26th, 2008 by Larry D. Burton
After reading Cat’s post on the Fat Ass 50K I made a commitment to myself to start running. I found the Cool Running.com article The Couch to 5k Plan and decided that building myself up to running three miles a day was doable even in my horrible physical condition. I needed to take care of a few things first, though.
A little over a year and a half ago I had a torn meniscus repaired on my right knee. The job I had at the time made sticking to the physical therapy difficult and the result is that I have very weak supporting muscles for that knee. This has caused me to overwork my left leg resulting in fairly painful plantar fasciitis in my left foot.
During a physical I had a couple of weeks ago I mentioned this to my doctor in relating to him my plans to start running. He gave me his blessings for running but told me I needed a good running shoe with arch support and a knee brace. Okay, that seems reasonable enough. He also upped my blood pressure medication dosage, another incentive to become more active.
I moseyed over to Fleet Feet on the square in Lawrenceville and talked to the people over there. I told the salesman where I was in fitness, what my plans were and what my doctor had told me. I also mentioned to him that I was a tightwad that hated to part with my money. He measured my foot, and then took off after some boxes.
I ended up with a pair of Asics GT-2130s, a pair of Superfeet insoles and a pair of Balega Hidden Comfort XL socks. The shoes are a size 13. I’ve always thought I wore a size 12. The socks are the ankle height socks and they have a little padding over the Achilles tendon. I like this because new shoes tend to irritate that part of my foot.
This morning, after walking both the Bichon Frise and my Boxer I dropped Mattie, the Bichon, off at the house while Sammie, the Boxer, and I took back off to try out the shoes. (I allowed my cash strapped oldest son to give me the shoes for Christmas.) I tried to stay with the Cool Running program but only got through the third set of running/walking before my knee told me to back off. I guess I really do need the brace.
Sammie did great on this outing. I was a little worried about whether she would help me keep up the pace or if she would be a distraction. She recognized what her job was and kept pace right next to me with a loose leash. Even when a woman came outside with a standard poodle and a greyhound she kept her cool and ignored them, staying right by my side.
I finished walking home so Sammie and I put in a little over a mile on the shoes, I just didn’t run as much as I was suppose to. I intend to do the same thing with Sammie tomorrow morning and the next morning and the next. My office is closed until January 2 so I should be able to at least get myself back use to getting up and doing this before I have to worry about being to work.
My goal for now is to be able to run a ¼ mile without stopping. Following the Cool Running plan should have me there in a couple of weeks. I don’t want to look ahead or rush myself on this or set too grand of goals to discourage myself but I do recognize the need for goals. I also know that Cat has shown me that sticking to a program will pay off in huge dividends. The key is sticking to it.