I’ve decided to go against my orthopedic surgeon’s orders and start running to get back into shape. My reason: My golf game has gone to shit over here because, get this, they WALK the course. I know, weird, huh? Golf as exercise, not just an excuse to drink beer for 4+ hours. (Don’t even get me started on the fact that there are no beer cart girls or even hot dogs at the turn.) So while I’m definitely more active here in Europe than I was in the U.S., I’m not exactly the poster child for Active People International.
I figured my best bet to get back into shape and build endurance is to start running. Some unintended side-effects will be I’ll lose weight and my heart won’t be in jeopardy. Yeah, yeah, whatever. I just want to play better golf and if that means running 30 minutes 3 times a week, so be it. And since Staci’s doing it, too, I have no choice to do it so I don’t let her down. *grumble* Stupid buddy system *grumble*
To get us going, we’re doing the Couch-to-5K running plan found on the Cool Running website. Staci’s done it previously with good results, and since I’m just a lazy tub of goo with bad knees and a doctor’s advice to “never run again”, it’s probably best if I start slow so I don’t hurt myself. Besides, I hate running, but it’s the easiest, quickest and cheapest way to get into shape, and it’s only ~30 minutes every other day, so there’s not much I can do to not do it, especially since I’m not giving up beer.
I plan on posting once a week or so with results and thoughts on how much I hate running to (hopefully) keep me going through this ordeal. I don’t intend to use this as a springboard to longer runs. (Remember, I hate running.) 5K is enough for me. It may be a starting point to working out and getting into better overall shape, but we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. For now, it’s all about golf.
Week 1
Distance: ~4.4km
Route: http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=3030228
Weight: 104kg (230lbs)
Jeff & Staci 
plspstpix kthxbai!