Chasing that first mile
With six months until the Columbus Marathon, I had to start somewhere. I started by going to a local park on Saturday, and two loops around the trail is just over one mile. Unfortunately, I didn't run the entire mile, because I started too quickly and wound up winded at about 1/4 mile. So I walked a little, jogged a little, and eventually made my mile, with probably somewhere between 1/2 and 3/4 of it running. I really need to learn to control my breathing, as I get winded almost immediately even when my heart rate isn't up much yet.
On Sunday, I ran at a different park, where the terrain is uneven and the loop is just under a mile. I wound up running about half of it, as I had taken our dog with me and she was difficult to handle while running. Plus the trails are too uneven to run on in spots.
Ideally, I'd like to do my running in the mornings before work, which means I'm going to have to run on the local roads around my home. I was going to wait until I knew I could do that first mile on level ground, but that means a lot of wasted time driving to a park that isn't open that early anyhow. So I marked off a half mile while I was driving into town the other day, and this morning I attempted my mile there. Again, I started too fast and wound up winded about 1/4 mile. This, combined with the hilly terrain and uneven roads, kept me to running about half and walking half, alternating between the two.
So I'm still chasing that first mile. I'm not suffering any real pain at all, though, so it's just a matter of learning to breathe properly while I run. I've got about two months before I really need to be doing longer runs once a week, with shorter ones daily, so I am not overly concerned at this point. If I just keep pushing it, I'll get that first mile despite the hills.
On Sunday, I ran at a different park, where the terrain is uneven and the loop is just under a mile. I wound up running about half of it, as I had taken our dog with me and she was difficult to handle while running. Plus the trails are too uneven to run on in spots.
Ideally, I'd like to do my running in the mornings before work, which means I'm going to have to run on the local roads around my home. I was going to wait until I knew I could do that first mile on level ground, but that means a lot of wasted time driving to a park that isn't open that early anyhow. So I marked off a half mile while I was driving into town the other day, and this morning I attempted my mile there. Again, I started too fast and wound up winded about 1/4 mile. This, combined with the hilly terrain and uneven roads, kept me to running about half and walking half, alternating between the two.
So I'm still chasing that first mile. I'm not suffering any real pain at all, though, so it's just a matter of learning to breathe properly while I run. I've got about two months before I really need to be doing longer runs once a week, with shorter ones daily, so I am not overly concerned at this point. If I just keep pushing it, I'll get that first mile despite the hills.
Technorati tags: running
