Couch to 5K-Independent Learning Project

Who knew that it could be so difficult to come up with a learning project for the last part of my Digital Literacy course!  I debated about so many different challenges to cover.  I wanted something that would be fun and interesting.  It needed to be something that I could blog about, as well, without boring everyone that read it.  I also wanted to find something that would possibly help with my stress level, as I have so much on my plate right now and deal with anxiety.  I also wanted it to be something I could continue to do in the future and that might actually better my life. Let’s not forget the fact that it needed to be something that wasn’t going to break the bank.  What would fit my requirements?

At one point, I simply gave up and decided I would just teach myself to knit.  I even went so far as to buy the knitting needles and the yarn.  I figured knitting would be a way to relieve stress, but as my husband pointed out, it would be boring for me to write about.  The best part of my blogging would likely be the pictures of my knitting failures.  I decided that my husband was right and that knitting just would not work for my project.

So, what would I do?  What would be fun? What would help relieve stress?  What could even help improve my life?

Being a college-student has been tough on my 35-year-old body.  I spend a lot of time sedentary, working on homework for hours at a time.  I don’t get a lot of physical activity, and I find it’s added a bit of unwanted fluff to my mid-section.   I’m still a healthy weight for my 6 ft height, but I truly wish I was still fit.  In all my life, I’ve never had to worry about my weight or fitness, but I guess growing older and college changes things.

How could I get back in shape?  A few years ago, I tried running.  I even slowly worked myself up to being able to jog 3 very slow consecutive miles, but I was doing it.  I even jogged my first and only 5k where I finished dead last.  But I finished without walking!  See, I have an auto-immune illness that effects my muscles, I have fibromyalgia, and I deal with chronic pain and fatigue.  My body tries it’s hardest to keep me down every day, but I persevere when even getting out of bed seems like a monumental task.  I was proud of the slow 3 miles I could jog, but after winter came around that year, I simply stopped running and lost everything I had worked so hard for.

For my project over the next 6 weeks of class, I want to work on learning to run longer distances again.   I want to build up the stamina and strength to run, no matter how slowly, a 5k again.  I’m sure I won’t be at that point by the end of this class, but I want to try my hardest to get as close to that goal by walking/running 4 hours a week.  There is a 5k in my town in August, and I would love to be able to participate.  I’m starting this journey at square one.

I’ll be using Map My Run to monitor my time and the distance I travel, posting those results here to hold myself accountable.  I’m still deciding on which Couch to 5K app I want to use for my phone.   I also plan on measuring my mid-section fluffiness to see if I manage to lose some inches during this project.  I look forward to sharing my journey with you all!