First Run

Distance: Unknown
Time: 30 minutes altering 2 minutes run 3 minutes walk.

Today was my first run in over 11 months. Yes you read that right, 11 months of procrastinating with every excuse in the book. I sure can talk a good game but when it comes time to follow through there's always an excuse. Today alone I had found 5 different excuses, but came to my sense when I was working on a blog entry on lack of motivation.

So I put on my favorite sports bra, changed into some semi-decent run clothes, stole a pair of Chris favorite run socks, and laced up my run shoes. Threw some clothes into the wash proving the excuse that I have laundry to do to be inadequate in the excuse category. It was time to spend some quaility hate time with my thoughts and the pavement.

The following is a break down of the run.

Warm up: Max seemed to be confused as to what I was doing. He didn't know if he should be in my face or hiding. I can feel myself gain energy. Guess the excuss of being too tired won't work.

O minutes (Run): I started out strong, kept telling myself to slow down because this isn't about distance just about warming up some sleepy muscles.

30 seconds (Run): I started to wonder if I had laced my shoes too tight. Pin pricks were covering the tops of my feet. I kept going. Man every second passes like molasses.

2 minutes (Walk): I wanted to slow down but forced myself to attempt to keep up my heart rate. The next 3 minutes consisted of huffing and puffing and a few coughs while my heart felt like it wanted to beat out of my chest. Did I make the right decision to run today? I think I'm coming down with a cold; that's one of my 5 excuses as to why I can't run for the day.

5 minutes (Run): My legs felt like lead and it took everything just to get them to move. I felt like I was moving in one of those slow sequence runs. Man I'm out of shape.

7 minutes (Walk): I am ready to quit but know that' I can't. Now it's time to do the math. 2 minutes run, 3 minutes walk, for 30 minutes. That's like 12 minutes total of run time. I've already got 4 minutes down, I'm a 1/3 of the way there.

10 minutes (Run): I started to wonder about my stride. Was I wasteing energy with crossing my arms infront of my body? How were my feet hitting the ground? I could start to hear Chris in my head "You need to push off and stop crossing your feet." Ok focus...Crap, my hips are swaying too much. Damn them for getting wider.

12 minutes (Walk): I realize that I've been wondering aimlessly through out the neighborhood and it's time to decide which way to go. I decide to take the longest route back to the house so that I can ensure plenty of work out time without Max seeing me.

15 minutes (Run): I realize that my hips are hurting but not in a bad way. I start to think about my blog and how I almost gave up on it 10 minutes ago. Damn I'm fickled.

17 minutes (Walk): I realize that I'm no longer struggling to catch my breathe. Am I doing this right? When I use to work out with Chris, I struggled during my rest times. Then I remembered that the plan I am following said not to push yourself too hard in the begining or you will set yourself up for failure.

20 minutes (Run):I'm heading down hill and going against the wind. I'm so happy to live towards the bottom of the hill. I realize that I'm running towards Monterey Bay and start to relax a little and enjoy the view. I can actually see it even though there's an over cast today.

22 minutes (Walk): I feel like I can keep going with the running but I know I need to stick to the plan. I start to think about the full work out plan and wonder if I'll end up doubling any weeks. Who cares, right?

25 minutes (Run): I feel more confident. Maybe it's the slight decline that's I'm running down, or the fact that my muscles are waking up. I feel proud of myself for making it this far.

27 minutes (Walk): HOT DAMN! I have ran 12 minutes! That's better then I thought I would. I realize it's not at once but baby steps feel great too.

30 minutes (Cool Down): I feel proud of myself. I also start to notice that it's really cold in Monterey and wonder if I should have brought a jacket out with me. Too cold and too damp were two more excuses on why I couldn't take a run today.