Running, Anyone?

I used to hate exercise. I was famous for it. There was truly nothing I detested more than going to the gym to work out, or even worse, playing a sport such as softball or volleyball. But for health and weight control reasons, I forced myself to exercise with a kind of regularity. I would get into the habit of going to the gym for a few months at a time and then stop for a few months. Off and on I would repeat this pattern. While I was in the "on" cycle, I still hated every minute of it. I had to use every trick in the book to get myself to just get up and do it.

And then something miraculous happened. I became a runner. A slow runner, but still a runner! I know it's sounds implausible that I went from being the anti-exercise poster child to being a runner, but it really happened.

After I gave birth to my son John in March 2006, I had about 25 pounds to lose. I had always struggled with a few pounds but never this many, so the situation called for drastic measures. I thought I would begin a walking plan in order to get in some reasonably painless exercise. But I found out very soon that walking was very boring to me! I know some people love it but it's just not my cup of tea. I figured that if I ran, I could get the miles over with sooner. However, I could barely run 25 steps without feeling winded and terrible.

I started searching on the internet for some sort of running plan that could ease me into it. What I found literally changed my life: the Couch-to-5K plan. It's a simple plan that works miracles. If you follow the plan exactly, in 9 weeks you will go from not being able to run at all to being able to run a 5K race. The plan requires you to exercise three times a week, for 20 to 25 minutes at a time. When I read that, I thought, "That's it? Even I can do that." You begin with a combination of walking and running (more walking than running) for the first week. The next week you increase your running but you also increase your walking. You just follow what the plan tells you to do and before you know it, you're running 3 miles (approximately 5 kilometers). It was definitely not easy, but I worked hard and completed the program. And to my surprise, during those 9 weeks I got hooked on running. On July 22, 2007, I completed a 5K race, running the entire time. I'm number 81 in the photo you see above; I was steps away from the finish line when it was taken.

That year I continued to run until it got way too cold for me to exercise outside. When I had my second son Timothy in June 2008, I had to start the whole process over from the beginning. But this time I couldn't wait to get back to my beloved running. This winter I'm keeping up my training on the treadmill at the gym; it's not as fun as running outside but at least it will keep me in shape until the spring. I'm counting the days until I can get back outside.

Running has given me so many psychological and physical benefits. I'm still amazed at how far I've come. For those of you who think you could never run, if I can do it, anyone can.

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Vocabulary

• detested: hated
• every trick in the book: every resource or strategy available
• miraculous: amazing, something highly unlikely to happen but does happen
• implausible: hard to believe, something with a small chance of really happening
• poster child: someone who is the best example of a characteristic; comes from a child with a disease whose picture is used on a poster to raise money for charity
• drastic measures: extreme effort
• not my cup of tea: something you don't like
• over with: completed, done; usually used with something unpleasant.
• winded: very tired, perhaps having a hard time breathing
• literally: truthfully, exactly; used when something could be thought of as an exaggeration, but you want to point out that it is not an exaggeration
• that's it?: another way of saying "that's all?", especially when you thought something was going to be larger or bigger in some way
• before you know it: very soon
• got hooked on: enjoyed something so much that you want to do it more in the future
• counting the days: looking forward to something, generally something enjoyable

Vocabulary Practice

1. After going up 15 flights of stairs, Susan felt _________ and needed to rest.

2. Many people seem to love the TV show The Office, but it's just __________.

3. I __________ quilting in 2002 when a friend taught me to sew, and I've made 8 quilts since then.

4. Overwhelmed with final exams and projects, the student couldn't wait to get the semester _________.

5. When Lily received her tiny plate of three crabmeat ravioli at the Italian restaurant, she thought, "________"

6. If you practice English as often as you can, __________ you'll be speaking fluently.

7. It took ____________ to get the toddler to eat his vegetables.

8. Anne, who hands in every school assignment late, refers to herself as the ____________ for procrastination.

9. The woman ___________ the idea of seeing the action movie but the friends she was meeting at the theater were very excited about it.

10. Due to a __________ catch in the last inning, the baseball team won the game.

11. When he saw his credit card bill, Greg knew he would have to take ____________ and cut up all his cards.

12. Jim was _____________ until the car dealer called to tell him his new BMW was ready.

13. The weatherman is predicting snow later on today, but it seems ___________ due to the fact that the sky is completely clear.

14. Amanda looked in ___________ every bridal store in Queens to find the perfect wedding dress.

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Grammar Point

The words "your" and "you're" are frequently misused, even by native speakers of English. In the fourth paragraph above, I wrote these sentences:

The next week you increase your running but you also increase your walking. You just follow what the plan tells you to do and before you know it, you're running 3 miles (approximately 5 kilometers).

The word "your" is used to indicate possession or ownership:

I like your shirt.

Please wash your hands.

Is that your dog?

The word "you're" is a contraction of "you + are" and is only used in the same place you would use "you are." Contractions are used to give your sentences a more informal or casual feel:

You are my best friend.

or

You're my best friend.

I think you are adorable.

or

I think you're adorable.

Practice Sentences: Insert "your" or "you're"

1. If ________ tired, you should take a nap.

2. I broke ________ picture frame. I hope _________ not angry with me.

3. _________ eyes are _________ best feature.

4. If ________ sure of ________ answer, write it in the test booklet.

Go to http://www.english-zone.com/verbs/your1.htm for another quiz on these two easily confused words.

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Do You Want to Start Running?

Here's a link to the Couch-to-5K plan that I use: http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_3/181.shtml

The site http://c25k.com/ is interesting too. It is a community for people doing the program. You can find helpful hints, music suggestions, and motivation from others, as well as the basic program translated into many languages. One way to motivate yourself is to sign up for a 5K run in your area that takes place about 3 months after the day you start the program. There are many, many 5K races all over Long Island. Go to the Long Island Race Calendar to start your investigation: http://www.panix.com/userdirs/runner/races.htm

Happy running!