Running Start

Clearly I have done a great job at adding photos and updating the blog....(cough, cough)
Maybe I will get better.
Maybe not.
I wanted to post today to track my progress with running.
I decided I want to become a runner.
I was looking through facebook for some cute recent pictures of Wyatt, because we all know any current pictures I have are still in my phone and camera. What I found was appalling. Sparky's camera clearly adds at least 20 lbs to pictures of me. I do NOT look like that. I am thinish. Not skinny, but not one of those people with fat arms who cannot wear tank tops.
Well, apparently I have become one of those people with fat arms that cannot/should not wear tank tops. This is really sad for a few reasons. Mostly because I have some really cute tank tops. But also, I cannot realistically believe the "camera" added weight to me. I have to do something about this. I want to be healthy for Wyatt and (honestly) I want to look hot.
So, my journey into running began yesterday.
I taught next door to a wonderful teacher for half the year last school year who was a runner. A real runner. Like, it is raining cats and dogs outside and all you can think about is how you want some hot chocolate and a movie and she is strapping on her rain-running shoes. Crazy, but inspiring. If she could run after teaching 25 crazy 5 year olds all day, I could do it too.
But what really got me is that she went running with her boyfriend (at the time) who has really bad asthma. She said the running helped with his asthma. Huh. That had always been my excuse not to run, not my excuse to run.
She followed Jeff Galloway's Run Walk Run program. It doesn't hurt that is he is the official runDisney training consultant.
So I followed his advice for beginning runners yesterday and got some good running shoes. I went to Indiana Running Company and had them "custom fit my custom feet".
They watched me run/jog and walk to observe my gait and how my ankles perform, then suggested the right amount of support for me. I tried on many pairs of shoes and tried running in each pair. We finally decided the Saucony Omni 12.

Aren't they pretty? The answer is yes.
I also got a running belt (not the one I wanted, but I was limited to what the running store had in stock) to keep my inhaler in while I run. I learned this from the Life's a Wheeze blog.
She also wrote an entire blog post about running with asthma and using the Jeff Galloway's run/walk method.

I decided I really want to be successful so I am starting out S.L.O.W.
I chose to begin with Jeff Galloway's Conditioning Program to get myself ready to run. My lungs are weak and so am I.
However, I have some great news! I took Wyatt and my new running shoes out today for our very first run in the morning. I completed the entire thing and didn't have one asthma attack at all. Actually, I feel pretty good! Previously when I would run, I would run until I had an asthma attack and couldn't get enough air which would give me a huge headache and send me to bed for a nap. Apparently, when you don't push yourself so much at the beginning, running isn't some horrible torture!
To help with the intervals I downloaded this free app to my phone. It vibrated and literally told me when it was time to warm up, run, walk, and cool down. It worked well.