Running/Jogging status so far...

The first 3 days of running have been great. The running shoes are feeling fabulous on my feet. Of course after the 3rd day of running, my calves, thighs, and abdomen are feeling extremely painful. Every time I sit down or stand up because my thighs and calves are suffering from the exercise, I feel as if they will give out at any moment. Sometimes when I yawn or cough, my abdomen hurts soo much I end up curling in. You know how the phrase goes -- "No Pain, No Gain."

Yesterday, I went jogging and I always come to this point after the first week. I seem to be taking steps backwards. I get more tired before reaching the end of the block and I run less and walk more. It usually lasts for another week and then I'm back to making progress. My calves and ankle were cramping up soo badly during yesterday's run, that the most I could do is walk. And when I walked, I walked like a duck because of the tendon and muscle cramps, it left me with little room to bend or rotate my joints. I don't know if I'm getting too old or if this the result of injuries past. When I was in high school, I was an avid basketball player and suffered from a torn ligament, dislocation, and sprains of my right ankle. I also injured my right knee to the point my doctor instructed me to not engage in any physical education for 6 weeks. After the 6 weeks, the fluid build up in my right knee had drained on its own, but I guess it left some damage because about 6 months later, I heard my knee pop during a rebound and I was down for the count. I couldn't straighten my knee with out pain and without feeling as if I had no knee cap. I felt like I could bend the knee in the reverse direction it was supposed to bend. So for the rest of the year, I stayed on my ass as long as I could until my knee felt better. I was told by another doctor I went to that my right knee cap is damaged in a way that it cannot receive the nutrients in order to heal itself or for it to stay healthy. It feels very jelly like and it swells up if I have been standing for a very long time so I guess the knee cap is deteriorating. My knee was also hurting yesterday.

So I took 5 - 10 minutes longer to make my run. It normally takes me 30 minutes to cover 1.2 miles as I mapped it out on mapmyrun.com and yesterday it took more like 40 minutes. I'm also feeling a little asthmatic when it comes to running. After the run my breathing turns into wheezing, but I'm not falling on the floor gasping for air at least. I think I'm just out of shape and I'm trying to push myself as hard as I can.