The First "Run"

Per the instructions of my training program, the first run was mostly walking. Yes, I hate running just as much as I remembered, but I did it. I ran/walked 1.75 miles in 25 minutes, so a pace of 14.18 minutes/mile. Not bad for starting out. I'm trying to motivate myself by thinking about how good I will feel a few months from now when I can see how far I've come. How's that for optimism?!

Putting It Out There

Somehow, I seem to have decided to train for a 5K.

Now, plenty of people run. I am not one of them. In fact, I have been fairly anti-running for a long time (for me, others can certainly do as they please). The few times I have tried running I have loathed it. I can walk, and at a good pace, for miles, but running seems to turn me inside out and suck me down into the earth.

But now, I have decided this is something I can do and should do. I need to exercise, I need a goal or I won't do it, and this is very concrete. Dave made this very point instead of laughing his head off when I articulated this thought out loud.

Of course, the clocks just turned back, creating even fewer hours of daylight in my minimal free time, and winter is just around the corner. Because training in the cold, dark, soon-to-be icy depths of winter makes a lot of sense for a novice.

Ladies and gentlemen, I think we are witnessing a textbook case of midlife crisis. And here I thought I took turning 40 in stride.