Day One

(Well... actually day 4 or 5 since my decision, but hey- I'm still a habitual procrastinator. Sue me.)

This will be short because I'm exhausted. I'm almost too embarrassed to explain what made me exhausted. I ran 3 kilometers. That's it. And a lot of it I walked. I did stretch, before and after, but my legs do feel like Jell-o.

I tried to analyze exactly what caused me to stop when I did. I know for sure I need to work on my breathing. I tried the "in, in, out, out" method, and that seems to work at 5mph. But anything faster, and I have no idea how to breathe. I also felt pretty good physically; I'd say the thing that made me quit was the "side stitch".

I forgot about the fact that I always get those when I attempt to run. I have no idea what causes them, but I always get it, and it interrupts my concentration, throws off my form and makes it difficult to breathe properly. This makes it nearly impossible to complete any goal.

So I have to figure out what that pain is about. Maybe it's just something that goes away after lots and lots of practice. I hope not- because that means I have to put up with it in order to get over it. And I'm a bit of a sissy. I don't expect this to be easy, but I hope that it won't be very far from my expectations.

So today I didn't push myself too far. I pushed probably a half kilometer over when I really thought I couldn't run anymore. So hopefully that means I'll be able to run tomorrow without much trouble.

A New Goal

Those of you that know me are going to have to reread the following sentence, possibly twice.

I'm going to run a marathon this year.

Yes. Me.

I am pretty surprised myself. I never thought I would set such an unattainable goal, something that I find so miserably awful. But for the sake of fitness, I'm going to set the bar. And I'm not unknown to make ridiculous goals for myself.

This is coming from someone who can NOT run. I've always been athletic, and absolutely love sports; I even ran track. But I was a sprinter. Long distance is another story. I even remember in grade school nearly passing out just playing "Catch the Cowboy" in gym class. I'm not sure what the problem is, but I can narrow it down to two possibilities: either I don't run correctly or it's a physical anomaly. One is fixable, the other is not.

I'm not one to let silly things like not being able to do something slow me down. I joined swim team my sophomore year upon urging from my schoolmates. I failed every year of swim class I ever took. Failed. I can NOT swim. I drown. It was a sad, sad thing to watch. My father never came to a swim meet because it was so painful to see. But it didn't keep me down. I improved (however slightly) and found that I can really kick ass in the back stroke, so this is where I raced. (However, not until I nearly died in several freestyle relays....seriously.) And now, if faced with the situation, instead of drowning, I could probably save myself...just no one else.

So now, my next unattainable goal: run Columbus's half marathon in October. I have 8 months to figure out how to run, work on my "core", get in shape, practice, and do it. I need a goal like this to get me focused to get in shape. My girlfriend Mary, who is also a glutton for punishment (she just ran a "mountain run" which forced her through mud pit, slush, ice and over mountainous hills) has agreed to help get me in shape for this thing. She's a career runner, and knows her stuff. Or at least I hope.

So maybe I'll walk 90% of the race, but damnit, I'm gonna finish it.

(Next blog topic: "Screw this, there ain't no way...")