I’m finding it a lot easier to add running to my life than limiting social media from it.

With running, I can avoid all the easy traps. Apps, gadgets, scales/measures and the like, all get in the way of running. I’m running because I enjoy running. If it becomes habitual, it will help me stay healthy. Anything that has the potential to puncture my self-esteem around that is a potential problem to be avoided. So, I don’t care exactly how far I have run or exactly how fast, or if I am losing/gaining weight while doing it. The additional data does not make me a better runner; it is ballast ready to be jettisoned.

Limiting social media is proving to be a lot harder to do. I thought that I could trade an unhealthy habit for a healthy one (running). But, time on social media is insidiously addictive, and I do not have the choice of quitting it completely. It is an integral part of my workday.

There is some interesting research about social media being less addictive on grayscale screens. Here are two articles from Mozilla and Medium. I haven’t had time to really assess the science behind them. But, having worked in both Graphic Design and Lighting Design, the basic principle seemed sound.

So, I switched my phone to grayscale; then, my laptop; and eventually, my studio computer. The first few hours were the hardest. Things felt a bit odd… as if I had passed through a time portal and was seeing everything on an old Zenith tube TV, except that the resolution was high and the screens were flat. I am finding less temptation to sit and scroll on my phone, but the effect did not carry over onto the laptop or desktop computers. I’m not sure why.

Then, I tried an app called AppDetox on my phone. This app allows you to limit the use of any app in a number of ways: number of launches, time limits, specific embargoed time windows, and even equating number of steps with allowed minutes/seconds. I finally settled on 10 minutes per app per day on my phone as a fair starting point. I then added StayFocused to Chrome on my desktop and laptop computers. Here, I have allowed myself 30 minutes per day for all social media websites combined.

I need to figure out something aside from locking myself out that actually works. So far, no luck.

For week 2 of Couch to 5K, I did not experiencing pain on the recovery days. I continued to stretch on a regular basis. The second week only adds about 1 minute to the total run time. I know that I could actually blast past where I am. But, I am holding to the program to build both resilience and habit. I don’t want to wind up hurting myself and needing to back off.

I had been using SuperFeet inserts in my old running shoes, but I had come to this decision when I wasn’t actually running. Last week, I had put them into my new running shoes and tried them one day. It was a fail. The shoes were too tight. The inserts made the new shoes too inflexible. But, even with that, the extra arch support seemed to help. So, this week I tried half-sole inserts. Those failed as well. It would seem that, at least for me, flexibility is more important than arch support.

I’m a bit worried about starting week 3. Runs during weeks 3, 4, and 5 are different from weeks 1 and 2 in that the run/walk patterns begin to shift to help you build endurance. I keep telling myself that, at this point, the actual total time running is the same and that I shouldn’t be worried. I know that my worries are unfounded. I’m hoping that I have the determination to just power through.

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