Run, Forest, Run

I’m running again. Well, more like jogging.  Really, if we’re going to be honest, it’s a lope. Ok, a shuffle. Still, I’m moving. Besides the usual motivations, I saw something on Facebook this week that got me in the mood. Some second cousins are doing a 5K in honor of their father, who passed away from pancreatic cancer. I decided to join them. The event is called Dash for Detection and it’s philanthropic goal is to raise money to create an early detection test for pancreatic cancer. Can you believe there isn’t one? And by the time anyone gets diagnosed with this form of the Big C, the prognosis is almost always super grim. If you’d like to help, you can donate on my page: http://DashForDetection2011.kintera.org/debmoran.

But, back to the running thing. I saw this post on Facebook on Tuesday of this past week. I checked my trusty training guide (http://www.halhigdon.com/5K%20Training/5-Knovice.htm), and realized I would have to start with week 3 if I was to get to the end of the 8 week training regimen in time for the run. Oy. Luckily for me, the first day was a possible rest day, so I started with the 2 mile run on the treadmill that very day. It’s been a while, so I had to run/walk it. But, I did it. I think it took me almost an hour. I started thinking, “This is going to be a LOOOOOONG 5K.”

I continued through the week, slowly increasing my speed. REALLY slowly.  All the while, praying for good weekend weather so I could get outside for my “long” run on Saturday. That’s today. Upper 40s and sunny this morning. The only downside was a bit of wind. I took off around 10am, and, based on my treadmill work, I thought I’d be lucky to finish in under an hour.  Especially with the wind.  I did recall that it’s very different running on land vs. hamster wheel, but I forgot just how different. It’s sometimes tough to pace oneself on land. Obviously, the treadmill does the pacing for you. That in and of itself can be difficult. Running a consistent pace is not so easy, even on the perfectly flat “terrain” of the machine. But, outside, the variations in land lead to variations in pace that can actually help speed the overall pace. And, thus, I finished in 39:09. Now, those of you who run and are in better shape may think, “Really? What’s so exciting about that?” Well, for me, it’s the thrill of being under a 20 minute mile. Yep. You read that right. Everyone’s got to (re)start somewhere.

More on my observations in the next post.

Left. Right. Repeat.