First Run Move(y)

Day 8 of Fit in 42

As part of my campaign to – as King Julian puts it – “move it, move it” (also sometimes known as “procrastination, nation”), I went for a run Friday. And I lived to tell the story. So far.

I didn't run at all last summer due to a minor but nagging injury. An injury which was not caused by running or lifting (sounds like irony, but it's not). Moral of the story: don't sit on one hip while staining the deck, and don't ignore an injury hoping it will go away.

Anyway.

Yes, my Hokas are larger than the pine tree.

Inspired by the sunshine and joggers I saw in Iowa City, I laced up my new Hoka's and hit the road. After stretching, of course. And swearing. A LOT. I may have set a new personal record for saying “Oh, sh*t” during this hour of exercise.

First I had to find my old, but serviceable Garmin watch and set the run/walk feature (that's at least 10 “oh, sh*ts” right there). Then I had to track down my old, but serviceable ipod, armband (right where I left it), and ear buds (not where I thought they were). On the plus side (!), both the watch and ipod were charged up and ready to go because I've been planning this for … quite a while.

I am terrible at guesstimating how warm I will be while running, so after finding a sweatshirt and deciding it would be too warm, finding a light jacket and deciding it wouldn't be warm enough, I settled on the sweatshirt and headed out the door.

How long has it been since I ran? Long enough for me to forget how to untangle the cord on my ear buds, to forget which bud went in which ear, and to forget how much it hurts when that rubber-y cord tangles in my hair.

I really want to avoid another injury, so in a rare show of sense and sensibility, I decided to follow one of the BAZILLION Couch to 5K programs that can be found online, and set off on a 1 minute run/2 minute walk interval for 10 runs.

I was out of breath by the end of the 5 minute warm up walk. My left foot hurt and my right knee ached. In other words, nothing out of the ordinary.

During the first 1-minute run interval, I ran half a block. But my knee didn't hurt any worse, and my foot felt fine.

Random running thoughts:

From the beginning of the run: “Who knew one minute was such a long time?”

From the middle: “I should learn the difference between wild parsnip and poison ivy.”

From the end: “Who knew two minutes was such a long time? Who needs a two minute recovery time?” (Spoiler alert: Me. That's who needs a two minute recovery time.)

At the end of my 5^th run interval, I had completed one mile! WOOT! It had taken me 15 minutes, but I had done it. I remember watching the big, digital clock at the finish line of my second 5K (the first one when I didn't FALL), and putting all my effort into finishing in less than 45 minutes. It took 44 minutes and 55 seconds, but I came in at under 45 minutes. That became my time to beat. Friday's 15 minute mile isn't going to finish a 5k in under 45 minutes, but it's a start.

15 minutes is the time to beat. Don't bet against me.