I went running yesterday for the first time in a LONG time. I am a bit sore today in the quads, but in all honesty there was not as much running going on as I would have liked. I wore the heart rate monitor, as demanded by my cardiologist and found that keeping my heart rate below 150 requires me to be almost comatose. I made it maybe ½ mile to a mile before I had to walk and let my heart calm down. Then I would be able to go a few blocks, followed by walking. By the end of the 3 ½ mile course, I was walking after a block. I finally gave up and walked home.
Todd didn’t seem to mind the haphazard running – he seemed happy just to be outside and exercising at all. Meanwhile I was stressing out over not being able to run like I used to. I know that I have to adjust to the new me. I may eventually be able to run like I used to, but that will only happen with training and time. Apparently LOTS OF TIME. I guess I just didn’t think it would take so long to get back in shape. I now see that I will have to put some weight training, swimming, and possibly stationary biking in the mix if I want to get in shape and not kill myself by running too much.
Running used to be the thing I felt I was good at. I wasn’t fast, but I could run distance. I guess now I have to simply be happy with being alive and being able to exercise at all. It is yet another lifestyle change that I find annoying.