Tuesday, August 14, 2012

For a few harrowing days, panic set in as the specter of running loomed nigh, nearly compelling me to honest exercise. For some reason, I thought the 5K was scheduled for mid-September, and as soon as the second week of August hit, I lurched into planning mode: where to practice, how far, when.

Indeed, a poor man’s montage had already begun constructing itself in my mind, complete with a final slow-mo shot of the finish line. I know the endgame. Intuitively, I regard a mile as one unit of ugh, which means 5K will be roughly three units of ugh, plus a little extra that will likely set in around mile two. You can imagine my temporary relief, then, when someone reminded me the run will actually happen in November.

I haven’t completely succumbed to procrastination, though. In fact, I’ve explored a few “couch-to-5K” regimens online, and the timeframe seems to be approximately eight weeks to get in shape. But I’m under no delusions. On paper, this entire experience would shunt me into a healthier lifestyle. I can tell you with full confidence that, upon conclusion of this ordeal, I will regress immediately to my sedentary, LCD-fueled existence. Perhaps I will need a “5K-to-couch” guide in November. Then again, you could say I wrote the book on the matter–or, rather, I’ve almost started writing the book.