today, i ran!

I don't really think that many of you will care about this as much as I do, but this is my blog and I do what I want. :-)

If you're not interested in running details, then you don't have to read this. It's okay, I understand.

So I ran this afternoon.

I mentioned in my post about goals last week that I want to run a 5k this year. I've been searching and thinking about which one I want to run, and I've decided on a 5k very very locally. Maybe one of these days I'll be one of those people who travels a couple of hours for a run, but 3.1 miles isn't something that needs a lot of traveling. Plus, I'm a poor college student. That's besides the point, though.

Anyway, yay! I found out which one I want to do. Meaning I have a deadline!

March 3, 2012! 
Whoop!
That means it's less than two months away, which means I've kind of got to kick my booty into high gear.

I decided on doing the Couch to 5k program. Why?
1. It's free (I'm a poor college student, remember?).
2. The pace that they have you going every week, and the way that they gradually work you up to three miles was something that made me feel comfortable.

I've gone running in the past, but never tracked my distance or time, which is something that you need to do when you're training for a run.
So this was my first try at it.
The first week of the Couch to 5k program tells you that you should walk/run for twenty minutes. You start out with a 5 minute walk, run for 60 seconds, walk for 90 seconds then repeat until your workout has reached 20 minutes.
I did my 'normal' route for the most part, and was so surprised to find out that it was over a mile and a half. I always thought it was maybe a mile, if that. So I may have been running two miles without even knowing it? Crazy!
So really, this whole 5k thing isn't so scary to me anymore!

How did I feel during and after my run? Pretty great! Yeah, my legs would start burning when I was running, but that's normal for running and I'm assuming it will get better as my muscles get stronger. And I felt even better after I was done! Not because I was done, but because I felt like I had a good workout, I didn't feel like I was dying, and my face didn't look like a beet!
I'm already learning what is too much and what is just right, and that gets me so pumped up for this new running adventure!

If you made it this far, thanks for sticking in there with me. I'll be doing a post like this hopefully every Monday so I can track my progress. Who knows, maybe someone would like to read it?