First Steps on a New Journey
This afternoon was an ideal time for a run. Autumn was in the air, the leaves are beginning to change. It was 63F, 17C with a nice gentle breeze was blowing. It was the perfect time to scrape the rust off of my running shoes, and make good on my promise to myself. I set out on a 4&1/3 mile run that had been my base run during last autumn when I was trying to get my body into running shape.
If felt good to be back on the road again, alone with my thoughts. I set out at a comfortable pace. It soon became apparent that I had lost touch of the sensory feel of running. I was out of synch, neither my breathing, stride, or balance felt quite right. I had no sense of my pace. I just new that I was laboring some, I had no fluidity in my movements. My watched chimed at 8:30, my new goal pace for my base runs. I was nowhere near the 1 mile marker, but that was all right. I was back running. I was off the sidelines and back in the game.
My run today took under 44 minutes, the time wasn’t important, my actions were. I need to cut 6+ minutes off the time for that run, while running at a relaxed pace to reach some of my goals. That’s not a concern, today I got back in the game. I have plenty of time to improve and refine my running. I looked back at my spreadsheet from last year. When I first ran this loop a year ago it was my 11th day back running. In 2007 I was nearly a minute slower than today, and I was carrying an additional 12 pounds. Today was the first of many steps towards my goal. My race is in 235 more days, but in many ways I took the most important steps today.
