Finding a Way

My friend Charlotte, who features prominently in my 2nd book, Tuck Your Skirt in Your Panties and Run, when I told her my plan for running a 5K, gasped, "You're going to do that in public?" Charlotte could forgive me for getting cornered into actual exercise, but she could not understand any resolve that led me to display my efforts on the sidewalks and streets or our fair town.

I'd never considered that I would actually have to train where neighbors could see me hobbling and limping and breathing like a lung blew.
Heeding her fears for me, I made an Internet search for 5K training plans. Most of the ones I found assumed I could actually run some measurable distance for a sustained period longer than 20 seconds. One of the training schedules started with Day 1: Run one mile. Puh-leeeeeze.

What I was looking for was a routine heavier on wine and chocolate than on whine and wheezing. I settled for a schedule that falls between the two extremes:

Crypt to 5K Training Schedule



Week	Workout 1	Workout 2	Workout 3
1	Brisk 5 minute walk. Then alternate60 seconds of jogging and 90 seconds of walking for a total of 20 minutes.	Brisk 5 minute walk. Then alternate60 seconds of jogging and 90 seconds of walking for a total of 20 minutes.	Brisk 5 minute walk. Then alternate60 seconds of jogging and 90 seconds of walking for a total of 20 minutes.
2	Brisk 5 minute walk. Then alternate 90 seconds of jogging with 2 minutes of walking for a total of 20 minutes.	Brisk 5 minute walk. Then alternate 90 seconds of jogging with 2 minutes of walking for a total of 20 minutes.	Brisk 5 minute walk. Then alternate 90 seconds of jogging with 2 minutes of walking for a total of 20 minutes.
3	Brisk 5 minute walk. Then do two repetitions of the following: ·         Jog 90 seconds ·         Walk 90 seconds ·         Jog 3 minutes ·         Walk 3 minutes	Brisk 5 minute walk. Then do two repetitions of the following: ·         Jog 90 seconds ·         Walk 90 seconds ·         Jog 3 minutes Walk 3 minutes	Brisk 5 minute walk. Then do two repetitions of the following: ·         Jog 90 seconds ·         Walk 90 seconds ·         Jog 3 minutes Walk 3 minutes
4	Brisk 5 minute walk. Then: ·         Jog 3 minutes ·         Walk 90 seconds ·         Jog 5 minutes ·         Walk 2 ½ minutes ·         Jog 3 minutes ·         Walk 90 seconds ·         Jog 5 minutes	Brisk 5 minute walk. Then: ·         Jog 3 minutes ·         Walk 90 seconds ·         Jog 5 minutes ·         Walk 2 ½ minutes ·         Jog 3 minutes ·         Walk 90 seconds Jog 5 minutes	Brisk 5 minute walk. Then: ·         Jog 3 minutes ·         Walk 90 seconds ·         Jog 5 minutes ·         Walk 2 ½ minutes ·         Jog 3 minutes ·         Walk 90 seconds Jog 5 minutes
5	Brisk 5 minute walk. Then: ·         Jog 5 minutes ·         Walk 3 minutes ·         Jog 5 minutes ·         Walk 3 minutes ·         Jog 5 minutes	Brisk 5 minute walk. Then: ·         Jog 8 minutes ·         Walk 5 minutes ·         Jog 8 minutes	Brisk 5 minute walk. Then, jog 2 miles
6	Brisk 5 minute walk. Then: ·         Jog 5 minutes ·         Walk 3 minutes ·         Jog 8 minutes ·         Walk 3 minutes ·         Jog 5 minutes	Brisk 5 minute walk. Then: ·         Jog 1 mile ·         Walk 3 minutes ·         Jog 1 mile	Brisk 5 minute walk. Then jog 2 ¼ miles (about 25 minutes).
7	Brisk 5 minute walk. Then jog 2 ½ miles (about 25 minutes).	Brisk 5 minute walk. Then jog 2 ½ miles (about 25 minutes).	Brisk 5 minute walk. Then jog 2 ½ miles (about 25 minutes).
8	Brisk 5 minute walk. Then jog 2 ¾ miles (about 28 minutes).	Brisk 5 minute walk. Then jog 2 ¾ miles (about 28 minutes).	Brisk 5 minute walk. Then jog 2 ¾ miles (about 28 minutes).
9	Brisk 5 minute walk. Then jog 3 miles (about 30 minutes).	Brisk 5 minute walk. Then jog 3 miles (about 30 minutes).	Brisk 5 minute walk. Then jog 3 miles (about 30 minutes).

The five minute walk allows me enough time to get to the cemetery adjacent to my neighborhood before I start the running. I figured dead people would enjoy the company no matter how close to keeling over and joining them I seemed. In fact, they might even like me better that. Thus began my crypt to 5K training, reluctantly, feebly, falteringly.

Note: This training schedule is modified from one I found on-line. Despite searching, I cannot find it again. If you can supply the link to it, I will certainly reference it.