Friday, September 21, 2012

Softball, running and bases

Okay,  I am new at this and really have no idea what I am doing.  So I will start at the beginning.  My name is Janice and I am 47 years old.  Some days I feel older and some days I feel younger.  I played numerous sports when I was in high school and only intermural sports in college.  Since graduating college, I have only played softball.  The season normally goes from April until November.  The rest of the months, I don't physically do much.  I have never been thin and the off months don't help me keep in shape.  I have a fiance (Perry) who loves to run, a 16 year old son (Cody) who is a junior in high school, does Boy Scouts, Marching Band, skateboarding and wears anything as long as it is black, and a 17 year old step son (Nathan) who we don't get to see very often even though he lives right down the road.  (We all know how teenagers are). 

So what is this all about??  I have been trying to run as a form of exercise for years.  My significant other is an avid runner, and I would love to go along with him, but can't run.  Running around and touching the bases is very different then going out on the road or on a trail and running more then a couple hundred feet.  (okay since I am only a singles and double hitter, we are looking more at 65 to 130 feet, unless you count the power hitters who bat behind me who make me run all the way home from whatever bases I have landed onto.)

When I do try running, I have breathing problems, foot problems, chafing, stomach issues, knee issues and so on and so on.  I am very dedicated for a few weeks, then suddenly stop.  I have lots of excuses for why I need to stop.  It takes a couple weeks, but then I start again. 

So this is my next attempt to keep myself going.  For the past 2 weeks, I have been back at the gym exercising on the eliptical machine.  I do 30 minutes (while reading a book) then off to the weight machines.  Since I have never been trained properly in the gym, I just wing it.    I am also too cheap to get a personal trainer, so guess it is time I start reading up on exercising and running.  My goal is to create a workout that I will feel compelled to complete.  I need a schedule written down so when I go into the gym, I know what I am doing and don't end up putzing around not accomplishing anything.  I also believe that if I post my thoughts, workouts, and mental struggles, it would help me to keep at it.  (so if I never post again, you know why, it did not help)  My goal is to  someday run a 10k and to also get faster around the bases on the softball field.  My current plan is to do the gym for another week and then start getting a definate routine down starting Oct 1st. 

So, here we go!