Wow. First official training run. And it's outside. I haven't run outside since I was in high school and that was a long damn time ago.
Knowing I was going to do this, I started running on a treadmill at my gym a few weeks ago. I did a couple 30 minutes runs a week and worked up slowly until I was doing three runs a week fairly regularly. I also ran a couple hour long runs, just to see how it felt. It was probably not the best thing to do before I was really ready, but I didn't hurt anything and at least proved to myself I could do it.
I remember back to when I started working out with my trainer, Josh, and he had me run for 90 seconds on the treadmill in between weightlifting stations during our circuit training. I could barely do it, even at a pace that was so slow it could only be called a fast shuffle. It wasn't even jogging. I was a good 150-180 pounds heavier back then. I've come a long way.
Still, I was anxious about the whole "outside" thing. I guess I'm really just anxious about the whole marathon thing. I know that the coaches know what they are doing and their training schedule is designed to get non-runners across the finish line. Knowing is all well and good. Getting over the mental block on how far 26.2 miles is is another thing.
I started riding my bike to work last summer. It's 10 miles each way and I had the same brief hesitation each morning I rode as I allowed that distance to sink in. 10 miles is a long way on a bike. By the end of the summer, however, I was regularly taking the real "long route" — using the Burke Gilman and going through the Locks and then down the waterfront to work. 45 miles round trip.
So I know it's all in my head and I'll get over it.
The run itself went really well. I felt good and ran faster than I thought. I mostly went for a pace that felt natural and didn't try to take it easy or push too hard. Still, I think I may have been going too fast to start out. My quads were a little sore as I finished and I was huffing and puffing pretty hard. The coaches said we need to keep a pace to start out that allows us to hold a conversation. I don't think I could have talked much while I was running.
I also had a fanny pack for my glasses, wallet, keys and iPhone. I've got to lighten the load. I was the only one carrying that much stuff and I had a hard time keeping the fanny pack in place. It kept wanting to spin around to the front, and that's just not a good look.
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