Well... I officially had my first run. This is going to be harder than I thought.
I don't know why I figured it would be easy... after nearly 3 years of doing nothing, I guess I believed my lie that I could just pick it up from scratch and have that be that. Oh well, I've got some work ahead of me!
I figured out that my route is about 3/4 of a mile each way (so, 1.5 miles total). That will help me figure out my distances for future runs.
Today, I was going to make up my run from yesterday and walk too. I realized that I pretty much wasted Thursday and Friday from last week... I need to be working up to running, not just doing activity. It will be better for me to do a run/walk like I did today, expanding the amount that I'm running, than just walking. I broke a sweat today (early, early on!) and really got a workout. I didn't get a workout last week.
One thing I did realize is how much easier it is to run when you have goals. Like I posted last week, along this route are these plastic ties along the way advising that the area contains wetlands, and if I gave myself a goal of running to that point, it was much easier than just saying "I'm going to run for 15 seconds or 30 seconds." or whatever the time would be.
I also caught myself slowing down when I would get to markers where I decided I was going to run again. Instead of keeping the same pace, I'd stop running and go into a brisk walk... to a semi-leisurely walk... to a sllllowwww walk. I need to keep moving so that I get used to going for that whole time and make the entire time, whether I'm running or walking, be worth while.
Though this, though, I found that I have several different speeds. These are from fastest to slowest:
Sprint- The Bear's after you...
Run- My "distance" pace. Yes, you're faster than me, but I have more endurance, so you just sprinted away... but I'll get there. May just take me a bit right now!
Jog- Feet are leaving the ground, but I'm not moving very fast. I'm also not covering very much ground. I need to work on RUNNING, not jogging!
Racewalking (aka Power-walking) - Both feet DON'T both leave the ground at the same time. I know I'm not working very hard in my "jog" when I start walking... and I'm walking faster than I was jogging! Exaggerated arm movements optional. But keep in mind... we will laugh at you.
Walking - Not as fast as Racewalking, more leisurely and "easy," often done in a park. Thus the term "Walk in the park."
Stumble- Still moving forward. Both feet usually on the ground. Not moving very fast, probably avoiding getting someplace (i.e. me right before I get to one of my "run" markers).
My legs are really feeling it right now... especially my hips and my calves.
Btw, as I've said, I've been running on a path. Unfortunately, Google Maps (my preferred mapping software) doesn't allow any trips off of roads (despite their new "walk there" feature).
But... there is another website that uses Google Maps that DOES let you create trips that aren't on roads. It also will track your distance and makes an approximation for how many calories you've burned. This website is: http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/ . This is VERY helpful for planning trips and tracking distances.
The Mole finale is tonight... gotta find out who the Mole is! Also, Men's gymnastics are on right now in the Olympics. The US is second (12) to host China (14) in total medals and third in Golds with 3, behind China (9) and Korea (4). Michael Phelps is 2/2 in gold metals and world records so far... going for 8!
5 comments:
You might also try MapMyRun.com or logyourrun.com. I use LYR mostly, but when I want to see elevations, it's MMR.
I know you found my blog through the Google Analytics post (just responded to your comment, BTW), but I'm a runner too. Don't give up just because it hurts! You can do it!
Thanks Linden! ... though we don't have too much in the way of "elevation" here in Illinois...
In terms of the pain... bah, I'm just mad at myself more than anything else because it took me to long to do this. I'm used to being sore, from back in the day. I actually used to like it! I've just gotta get myself back in the groove again!
I have to admit, I'm a little jealous of your lack of elevation. I am trying to replace "I hate this hill!" with "I love this hill!" in my head because I think it'll help. We run this long killer of a hill every day. Blech.
Way to go on getting back into running! It'll start feeling great after a couple of weeks (mentally, at least. Can't promise anything for those muscles!)
I certainly can find hills if I want to... but they're few and far between. They don't call this the Prairie State for nothing!
We used to train on a hill before the basketball season when I was in college. Sentry Insurance has its world Headquarters in Stevens Point, WI (where I went to school) and they used earth from what is now a 24 acre lake to create it. It's not a long hill... but it's steep, and it seemed like the coaches would train us on the darn thing until at least 3 people were puking... Not something I want to relive!!
Mentally, running has already been good... I've had lots of extra time to think, which is always good. Physically, my calves are killing me... I think I may need to take a rest day just to let them, well, rest, so it doesn't ruin the rest of my training for the week (and weeks to come).
I have never run until I puked and I hope I never do. Sound purely awful. I'm planning on focusing on improving my speed once I've finished the marathon, so the hills and track are going to become a part of my routine. shiver I need to get myself psyched for that. Makes me cringe just typing it. :)
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