Running progress

When I looked out the window this morning, I knew I was going to have to make a choice. Yesterday, I'd made plans with my walking partner, Kim, to do the Couch Potato to 5K routine, and this morning, it was raining. A quick check of the forecast told me that the rain would increase and the winds were going to be gusting mightily. Not the best day for running. But I decided I wanted to do it anyway.

I called Kim.

"I figured it would be you," she said. We talked about the rain, and I said I'd like to just go ahead and do it, that I had to travel into town, where we walk, anyway, and it was only a half-hour of getting wet. Why not?

So we met, and I felt ready, though my legs and a few other muscles were still pretty sore from my jogging stint Wednesday morning. We walked for five minutes, then we jogged for sixty seconds...and then, I just couldn't get my breath back. I felt like I was going to vomit. I don't know why, but I just couldn't get my body to cooperate. We walked our prescribed ninety seconds, Kim strolling beside me, not even breathing hard, and at the end of ninety seconds, I still hadn't regained control of my breathing. But we set off, and I ran another sixty seconds. It was awful, and then it was even more difficult for me to get my breathing back to a steady rate.

So we decided to just walk, and I was glad for that, but I felt badly for dragging Kim out to the trail under false pretenses. The rain was really coming down, and I'd abandonned my raincoat hood, so my hair was sticking to my head in heavy, cold ringlets. Time to get a bob.

We walked out usual distance, and then we started back. At one point, she asked if I wanted to try jogging again, so we did, and this time, it was really a breeze. I don't know what the difference was, but I was glad I did it. I'm disappointed that I didn't do the whole routine, but I'm glad I got out and ran.

One of the things I love most about walking with Kim is the conversation. We always end up talking about something good, whether it's books, movies, relationships, religion, politics, whatever. And I don't feel judged or threatened or bothered by our conversations (except that I think I tend to dominate and talk to much. Who knew?), so even though we didn't run, I was blessed by her presence and our discussions.

We plan to try again tomorrow. I think I may just have to stick to the walking, because my legs are still trying to recover from my first day of running, and I'm sporting two pretty new blisters, one on each foot.

It sure was easier putting all this weight on.