Sporty Milestone

Indulge me as I reflect back on the most sporty year of my life. Last February, after discovering my startlingly high resting heart rate (nearly 90 BPM!) at one of those machines in the drug store,  I decided that I was going to become a jogger. Mind you, this was not the first time that I resolved to start running. There was 7th grade cross-country (last place at my first meet, yikes), high school when I took up jogging for about two weeks with my super-fit mom, and college when all of my roommates were jogging and I tried to join them but eventually settled instead on a new-found love for yoga.

So that brings us to last winter when I once again resolved to hit the pavement 3-4 times a week and get my heart in healthy shape. I bought some women’s health magazines, surfed the net for running regimens and made a new jogging play-list on my iPod.

And amazingly, this time, I actually did it. That’s right, I am officially a jogger. It started more as wogging (ahem, walk-jogging) and slowly, slowly (6-8 months) evolved into what I am now proud to say is about a 11 minute mile! Some of you out there may not be too impressed by this, but anyone who knows me is downright shocked by my transformation into a jogger.

Blackrock Park where I started my weekly jogs, Dublin, Ireland

So, you may be asking, what was the difference this time? Why did it stick now and not before? I think the answer is that instead of wanting to become a “runner” or finally be “athletic” I just wanted to get my heart pumping, sweat a little and be more active. Truthfully, I have no idea how fast I run (slow) because I’ve never even timed myself. If I feel gross, I just walk a lot and jog a little. The important thing is I get out there and do it.

Stretching after a run at Lake Hallstatt in the Austrian Alps

One of the highlights of 2011 for me was when I was able to keep up with Patrick as we jogged through the streets of Rotterdam, Prague, Barcelona, and Vienna. We traveled for three weeks together and made a point of getting up early one day in every city and doing a jogging tour around town. We took pics on our phones, took in the empty streets, and had a delicious breakfast at the end as a reward. 

P and I after a long run through Rotterdam, Netherlands

I have no desire to ever run a marathon but I’m hoping to do my first 5k in 2012, and I have to say, I’m feeling great about it.


PS. My other blogs on being sporty: Sporty vs Athletic and Sporty on Skates. How do you keep healthy? Jenny and I are thinking about trying a Barre class soon!