Running?

I have never been a runner.  I mean, I ran track in Jr. High- sprinting because distance running was decidedly beyond my capabilities and the capabilities of my sport's bra.  But I have looked with envy at those who run and who derive a sense of fulfillment from running.  So even though I get shin splints and side aches and whenever I try to run my lungs feel like they may collapse, I still want to give it a fair chance.

But how to begin?  I realized this fall that I enjoy trail running much more than street running and even bought myself some trail running shoes to further that purpose.  Luna loves to go for a run and I know she would appreciate it if I ran regularly and took her with me.  However, it is the middle of winter in Pullman and although we are having some sort of tropical heat wave (50 degrees??  WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?!) it is still crappy out.  Today, for example it is alternating pouring sheets of rain and huge blasts of wind that make all my windows rattle.  Luna ran outside to go potty this morning, started happily trotting to the yard and stopped short when she got a huge gust of wind in her face that made her ears stand up and her lips flop around.  She turned around and found a more sheltered place to piddle and was still quite damp from the driving rain when she came inside.

So running right now is decidedly unappealing.  But I need to start at some point.  I read numerous cooking blogs and many of these healthy home cooks also have healthy hobbies such as running and yoga.  I followed a link to Runners World and have since clicked my way around (steering away from half marathons when I started reading things like "start by running 6 miles at 60% of your normal pace.") and found the Beginners section.  There are a lot of great articles in there about shoes and nutrition and motivation as well as common pitfalls and inspirational stories.  This is the gem that I think I found though:

The Runner's World 8-Week Beginning Runner's Training Program.

I think it looks very doable.  I like the idea of having a manageable goal- in this case, work my way up to running for 2 miles at a slow pace (30 minutes of running).  Will I win a marathon at that pace?  No.  Do I need to?  No.  I just want to be more physically fit and maybe have a better chance of surviving the Zombie Apocalypse.  Maybe once I get into the habit of running, I can work towards some bigger goals.  For instance, I would REALLY like to do a triathalon someday.  Maybe even a half marathon.  

For the moment, I will settle for feeling good about myself and making my dog very very happy.  

Also: outrunning zombies.