C25k - Day 1

It looked like it wasn't going to happen. I had tummy issues (TMI - liquid tummy issues). I couldn't find my only sports bra. I didn't know what I was going to do with my keys. I had never been on the track at the park. It was getting late and we still hadn't been able to get me time to do it.

But I did it!!!

I went even though my stomach didn't feel so good - and had no problems with it :) Jesse told me to go buy another bra - I found mine :) I pulled out a workout shirt I had bought years ago with the best of intentions but only used a couple times - it had a zipper pocket big enough for my cell and my keys :) Jesse told me to stop and pick up supper on the way home since we were in a time crunch :)

I arrived at the park and found a parking spot near the track. I zipped my cell and keys into the shirt pocket and decided to start where the track crosses the park entrance I came in at.

The track itself is hard to describe. Almost like packed dirt with small, loose rocks on top. Some of the rocks are packed into the dirt, but most are not. There are very short stretches of sidewalk interspersed throughout but these are few and far between. Part of the reason I chose to start where I did was because there was a stretch of sidewalk there before I hit the rocks.

So I started walking. Started my timer for 5 minutes. Walked at a pretty good pace. When the timer went off, I switched the watch to interval mode and started my first jog. I had no problem with the first 40 seconds of each jogging interval, and the last 20 were not so hard that I felt like I really had to press through. Don't get me wrong - I enjoyed those walking breaks ;) About 20 seconds into each walk, I found myself taking one very deep breath. Any other time I tried to take one, it felt uncomfortable. But for some reason my body just did it at that time. It wasn't something I did consciously. Every time though it felt so good and refreshing! Like my body knew exactly when the optimum time was that it would be the most beneficial. I took the second jog a bit harder, only because it felt good to. The rest I took nice and easy. I tried not to let the other people passing me on the track intimidate me. My goal wasn't to be fast - It was to finish!

When I finished my last walking interval, I went to stopwatch mode because I was curious how long it would take me to walk the rest of the track back to where I started. I knew I needed to walk a couple more minutes to make sure I was cooled down. So I started the stopwatch. And it only took a little more than 1 minute! The track is 1.25 miles long and I completed a full lap in approximately 26 minutes. For being 185 lbs, out of shape, never having jogged before, and wearing new shoes, I think I did pretty good with my pace!

The shoes... Oh. My. Goodness. That was the first time I've ever tried to jog/run and actually felt comfortable doing it! I guess regular shoes and I just don't get along LOL I was a bit concerned with how stable my ankles and knees would be on the loose rocks with no support but they did great! I felt my bad knee a couple times, just like a "hey, I'm here," but I guess my body self-corrected. I barely felt my ankle once or twice. When I ran, what I felt was my hips and butt, not my ankles and knees :) That's HUGE for me! The only issue with my shoes was that near the beginning I managed to get a rock stuck between two of my toes. Um, between two of the toe-holders I guess LOL But I realized it after only a couple strides and it came right out.

When I got back to the beginning of the track, I walked back to my car and did some stretches nearby. There was a statue of some sort that was a good height to hold onto to help stretch. I only stretched for a few minutes but I didn't feel that tight. From there I went to pick up supper.

Since I got home, my hips are a bit sore but that's it. I'll probably feel it a bit in other places tomorrow.

Overall though, I feel surprisingly good! I didn't get a runner's high (I've had them before from doing other types of exercise), but I definitely felt good :) It was a huge sense of accomplishment!!!