Going the Distance

Somewhere between falling asleep reading and that one horrible look in the mirror, there came a change of plans.

The first reason. Reading at night is not very useful, as I tend to fall asleep, or be too tired, and then my brain learns that reading=bed time.

The second reason. My waist is beginning to overflow my favorite pair of jeans, and this is simply unacceptable. I haven't stated this here, but a favorite all around goal is "stop decline before it begins." I didn't catch it before it got started, but I'll be damned if that means I'm going to let it just go willy-nilly and let myself get fat!

The third reason. Yes, there is a third. I've caught myself being very irritable lately, and they say that exercise balances chemicals in the brain and helps such things. After getting very upset with a friend of mine, I decided that I needed to, first thing the next morning, go for a run. A very, very long run. Like a purifying ritual style run.

So, the next morning, I woke up, chugged some water, waited anxiously for the water to digest so I wouldn't get sick, then walked outside....only to find....snow. Lots. Of. Snow. Cursing the skies, I walked back inside, grabbed a coat, and made my way to the neighboring building's exercise room. The treadmill was not exactly what I'd been planning, but I got on anyway, and ran somewhere above a mile (though thanks to a mechanical blooper, I couldn't tell you exactly how far, or how long it took).
The next morning, it was like I was on auto pilot. I hadn't exactly planned to go running, I just woke up, got dressed, and went straight to the treadmill. I ran an amazing 1.6 miles, non-stop, in 17 minutes. Not a stellar time, but hey, it's a start.
And yesterday? Same thing. Got right up, got dressed, and went for a run. Due to feeling a little ill, I only ran 1.2 miles, though still nonstop, and in 14 minutes, 33 seconds. That does include a walking cool down, by the by. I ran the mile straight, then walked .2 miles.
Today was more of a hassle, I was very tired, and feeling even more ill. I went running anyway, but had to pause when my throat got so dry that I started coughing, and the second I stopped running, I got nauseous. That ended my running venture at .77 miles, but in a decent 8:43.

To fill you in on a bit of underlying story, my mom and sister have started a tradition of running a race called "Beat The New Year!" which is a New Year's Eve 5k in which the goal is to cross the finish line before midnight, having started at 11:30. My mom always asks if I want to run with them, and I always say "No...but maybe next year."...(and then my sister calls me a wimp)...so this year, I decided to really try to make it and run with them. To 'Beat the New Year', I need to be able to a) run faster than 10:00 miles for just over three miles and b) be able to run in frigid temperatures on dangerous footing, in the dark.
To accomplish this, I had decided to start running seriously in the summer, timing a mile weekly, all the while building my endurance. Eventually the timed mile would be a timed two miles, then three, then three and a half, to ensure I'll have enough steam to make 3.1 miles at the race. To deal with the cold, I would continue running in the winter, outdoors, and since I'd already be up to endurance standards, I'd just have to adapt to the cold. I've never done it before, but I doubt it'll be too hard, given enough time.

However, since I'm starting to run now, I'll be able to work up more slowly, and depending on weather (I refuse to run when it's actively snowing) I'll get a head start on acclimating myself to the cold. As Mr. Burns would say....Excellent....

Well, I think I've ranted enough for today. I'm keeping strict track of how much I'm running (how long and how far, and how many calories I burned according to the treadmill) so I'll post another update soon...I might actually just post here every day about my general experience. We'll see.