Waiting for the Big Guy

Liz and I picked up our running routine again, and I spotted these guys waiting outside of St. John Berchmans. I thought it would make a good photo, so I stopped and pulled out my phone to grab a few pics.
Liz and I picked up our running routine again, and I spotted these guys waiting outside of St. John Berchmans. I thought it would make a good photo, so I stopped and pulled out my phone to grab a few pics.
This morning, Liz and I headed out into the early AM and ran around the boulevard. It was our first official run of 2013, and it was a rough re-introduction after many months away.
Currently, I’m listening to Chuck Palahniuk and the audiobook version of his essay collection Stranger than Fiction. Some stories are longer than others, but each averages around 6-7 minutes. It’s been nice to try to lose myself in the listening, even though my brain attempts to figure out approximately how much time I have left to go.
As a quick overview: The Color Run is a national charity event, where participants run/walk a 5K and get doused in colorful powder along the way. Most participants don white clothing, and by the time they finish… they’re a brilliant, colorful mess.
For now, here’s a photo of me at the end of the event… shortly before I left the main stage and headed to my car. Tomorrow’s recap should be pretty fun.
Liz and I have been doing our running in the mornings, and so far that’s been working out pretty well. With a slight increase in the overall time (and us adding in some ab exercises, immediately afterwards)… we try to get out the door as close to 7 AM as possible.
And lately? It’s been pretty darned cold out there. I think this morning the temperature was 41, but the “feels like” temp was 35. When Liz asked if I had any gloves to wear, I thought for a second and realized – Yes! I did.
Here’s what totally helped: I looked around online, and many other people had reservations about this particular segment of the program. Many folks were giving the same advice: slow down. Slow it WAY down. So though I looked like a senior citizen with a limp, we kept things slow and I was able to keep one foot moving in front of the other. Time enough to work on speed and distance… for now, my goal is time-based.
Yesterday, Liz and I started week 4 of the Couch to 5K program, and I’ll say this: I was pretty nervous, going into things… as it was definitely kicked up a notch.
The lines “And all you need is just one more excuse,” and “I want to hear your very best excuse” are perfect for me. Whenever I feel my energy flagging, I fixate on these two lines and dig in a little more.
As of this second week, I’m becoming more aggressive about our runs – treating them in a kind of combative way. I’m hoping this will change, as I can’t imagine maintaining this mindset for a super long time. But for now, it’s giving me a good kick in the ass, to ensure I keep at it.
Yesterday, Liz and I decided to start up a running regimen. We’re doing the Couch to 5K plan, as Liz is going to be participating in a run with her sister, Katie.