Thursday, August 1, 2013

Running evolution (part 1)...

First of all, when I do it, I'm pretty sure it's called jogging (at best).  But fuck it - I'm going to call it running because it sounds cooler.

So, there have been a few developments with where running fits into my fitness plan since I first started the c25k program almost three months ago.  I can't really say that I hate running now.  That said, I can't really say that I love it either.  I guess you could say that I love that I don't hate it.  I get a huge sense of accomplishment when I finish a run, and I'm almost always (pretty much) looking forward to the next run.  The only time my mind really goes to a dark place is when I'm about ten minutes into the run, I have a moment of clarity and say to myself "WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING??!!"

Anyway, here's some of the highlights from the past several months:

w5d3
This stands for "week 5 day 3" in the c25k program, and it was kind of a turning point for me.  I wrote a previous post about it.  Once I did that run, I realized that even longer runs were actually possible.

Buying shit
I always do this - I get all jazzed up about something, and I find a bunch of shit related to it that I all of a sudden feel the need to purchase.  My wife (understandably) hates that about me.  With running, it started out with shoes.  I didn't feel too bad about that purchase, since my feet were starting to hurt on off days, and one of the first pieces of advice you read regarding beginners and running is to get yourself fitted for a good pair of running shoes.  And the advice rings true - the foot pain went away after I started running in them.

Next came the running shirts.  I had one "tech" type shirt that I realized was extremely comfortable to run in - it was light and wicked the sweat away nicely.  So off I went looking for running shirts.  I didn't go crazy (you certainly can), and got a few generic-type ones from Target.  They actually turned out to be a fortuitous purchase, as you'll see in the "nipple" entry in my next post.  (I know - quite the teaser.)

The latest purchase was this:
a gps running watch.  As I was clicking the "Buy it now" on Amazon, I'm thinking to myself "Why the fuck do I need this???"  In my defense (and there really isn't much of one), it was one of the cheapest ones out there.  I just kind of got tired of driving my latest route in the car to figure out the distance, and pretty much guessing at my pace.  Strangely, the purchase has been kind of motivating.  I know that if I stop running, I'm going to hate myself every time I look at the damn thing.

Color run
By the time the Color Run rolled around I was feeling mostly confident.  I say mostly because my latest training runs hadn't been quite a full 5k yet.  I was running slower than the c25k program assumed you would go, so my 30 minute run only took me about 4k.

My neighbor, who is an honest to goodness "for real" runner told me not to sweat it, and that I'd have it in the bag come race day.  She was right - adrenaline took care of that last one k.  The run itself was amazing - the atmosphere was great, and (unbenounced to us), my wife had made "congratulations" signs for my daughter and I at the finish line.  Coming around the last corner and seeing her there screaming her head off for us was a priceless moment.

All right, this post is getting long enough, so tune in next post for "part 2".

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