My First Full 30 Minutes

I reached my goal today - running for 30 minutes without stopping! It feels real good to have come from running for only 10 minutes out of 30 to going the whole 30 minutes. I have a greater sense of preparedness for the 5K now that I have this accomplished. It ended up taking me just over 2 months.

I've ran 3 times since I've last posted. My wife pointed out to me that there was a neighborhood directly behind our apartments with little traffic that I could run in, so I tried it and it's been great. I don't have to drive there and the distance is longer than the path at Highview Park. It is about 0.9 miles around, but if I go down a different road I think I can make it a longer loop, 1.5 miles. Anyways, it is nice because the scenery gives me other things to keep my mind on while I run. Like cars, dogs, birds, houses, buses, garbage trucks, and the occasional person. It also offers a wide variety of smells, such as trash that has been sitting out too long, wet dog, even when there are no visible signs of a dog being near, and exhaust. It's quite an experience.

Today a dog was out on the driveway with their owner and it got away and started chasing me. I could tell it was getting closer as the sound of it's yelp-like bark became more distinct. It was a small dog. The owner took off running after it and started yelling, "BRUNO! STOP! BRUNO!" I tried to ignore it and kept running, not looking behind my shoulder, but when it got close enough to possibly reach out for a early morning taste of ankle bits, I turned my head. It was looking up at me with an expression like he meant no harm. He just wanted to run along with me. The owner yelled, "He won't bite." But I wasn't taking any chances, so I turned and kicked it just enough to scare him. No, not really. I didn't believe her, but as soon as he began to back off I replied, "He's okay," when I really meant, "Please keep your dog away from me lady." I'll be looking forward to meeting up with Bruno again.

I ended up running 3.6 miles in 29:54. Not all that great, but I think that my mile time should go down quite a lot during the race. At the end of this week I'm going to time a 3.1 mile run just to see where I'm at. Until next time...

"I always loved running...it was something you could do by yourself, and under your own power. You could go in any direction, fast or slow as you wanted, fighting the wind if you felt like it, seeking out new sights just on the strength of your feet and the courage of your lungs." -Jesse Owens

Week 3: Day 4 - When Nature Calls

I would have finished my run for the day a couple of hours ago, but when nature calls there's nothing you can do about it. Thanks to a suggestion by my friend Matt this morning, I ran at Highview Park. It has a basketball court, tennis court, playground, and a path that goes around 1/3 of a mile. That's what I ran on this morning. I got there early because I left our pastor's men's book study (on Crazy Love by Francis Chan) at around 7:10am. I pulled into the parking lot and it was still dark. I took my time, changed my shoes and decided to take a walk around the path just to see what it was like. I got ready to run, and I went slowly around once. By the time I got around I knew I couldn't hold it for 30 minutes (too much info?? :)). So I left and stopped at Walgreens. By the time I left I had bought some bandages (for my blister on my heel), and two hot & cold packs. I got back to the park and finally began my run.

It was a nice park to run in - not too big, but bigger than the little path at my apartment. There were big trees, green grass, birds singing and squirrels playing. It helped that the path was longer since I'm runner farther now then I used to. Going around a small circle over and over makes the time creep by. It wasn't crowded either, just one person walking toward the end of my run. I think I'll start going there more often (thanks Matt!).

Like I said yesterday, I'm up to a 6:1 4x's (that's 6 min. run and 1 min. walk) with a 2 min. run to finish up the 30 minutes. It wasn't too bad, although my right leg, between my calf and my heel started to hurt about mid-way through. It has been hurting since at least Tuesday. I iced it when I got home and inclined my legs for about 10 minutes. They (runnersworld.com) say that after a run you should always stretch, ice, and incline, so I'll see if that works. You are also supposed to put heat on your muscles after you ice, I think, but I didn't have time for that today. I have to leave for work in 3 minutes.

So anyways, today's run was good. I think I'll be ready for my 5K in May. Every so often I would time myself for 1 time around the path and it was usually between 02:35 and 02:20. Not great, but I'm not really running for speed right now, just trying to keep on running when I'm supposed to. Next time I won't drink any coffee before my run, that way I won't have to hit up the little boy's room at Walgreens. Until next time...

"Running is a big question mark that's there each and every day. It asks you, 'Are you going to be a wimp or are you going to be strong today?'" -Peter Maher, Canadian marathon runner