Getting Organized to Get Running

Well, some idiot signed me up to run an 8k on Thanksgiving Day this year.  (Hint: her initials are LMW.)  Of pertinent note: I rather dislike running, the longest I've ever run in my life is just over 4 miles, and I'm pretty terrible at self-motivating for exercise - which is why I generally rely on classes and private instruction for my fitness routine.  As I haven't really run since last fall, and 8k works out to about 5 miles, I'm having a bit of an "Oh sh*t" moment.

Enter the Nike+ Run Club.  I've used the app before, just to track my runs and have a general idea of my pace and distances.  I love it because the app will talk to you along the way - telling you every time you've gone another mile, your pace, and total time - while playing any music you want from your phone (my personal running playlist includes a lot of 90's/00's hip hop and pop).

A great feature I just started using is the Nike+ Coach.  All you have to do is enter your race date, your current running status, and how often you can run each week along with your height and weight, and it spits out a plan to get you there.  I used to just randomly go run until I kind of couldn't anymore, but this is giving me much better structure to help me actually be ready to race next month.

As I've said before, getting organized isn't just about stuff, it's also about time.  Having a plan I can slot into my week and prepare for makes me that much more likely to follow said plan.  And there's just something about tracking and accountability that makes me want to prove to myself I can stick with it, and beat my previous achievements.

Plus, there's the ever-looming specter of that 8k race... I'll be sure to let you know how the Nike+ program works out for me!

LMW