Running For Our Lives

So Leslie and I have been running at the track for the last 2-3 months in preparation for our first 5K run coming up in less than 2 weeks. Our stamina is improving, our distance is improving and our times are subsequently improving as well. So last week, we decided to take our running outdoors to see what the differences may be.

Being that we have both upped our training to every other day, this little experiment would be done apart as I would be running while staying at my father's while working last weekend. That being said, I charted me course and measured out 3.1 miles driving along the housing development next to my father's house to get an idea of how long it would be.

Now, I have been running the full 5K at the track for about 2 weeks, but damn...I never realized it was THAT far. (All of you marathon runners quit your snickering, I haven't ran this much in close to 20 years.)

Once the course was planned out, I quickly changed into my ultra cool running outfit (it actually makes me look like I can run! How quickly they will learn!) and began to loosen up. My father showed up, looked at me in my outfit and chuckled (I think he was jealous) and asked me what I was planning. I told him that I was going for a quick run and that I would be back in about 30 minutes.

I began my first 5K outdoor journey and noticed a few problems with the outside world that I had not yet come across while running on a indoor track. Most of these are common sense items, that somehow escaped my frame of thought, while one or two were a complete surprise. I shall now enlighten you with my lessons learned.

• Hills - Yep, right of the bat. You would have thought I would have saw this coming while measuring the distance in the car - but nooooo. Needless to say I was huffing and puffing after only a few hundred feet - and I still had three miles to go. Aw, crap.
  
  
• Wind - I manage to somehow overcome the first obstacle and make my first left turn onto the next run when WHAM! I hit a pretty stiff breeze right in the face. Now, I appreciate a nice breeze to cool me off now and again, but this wind seemed to hold me in place - teasing me - and making it seem to make twice the effort to go half as far.
  
  
• Sweat - At the indoor track, they keep the temperature relatively cool to where sweat isn't a major issue until after you stop. Outside, I wasn't as lucky. I was barely into my trek when the sweat began to pour into my eyes making it impossible to see. I wore no hat or headbands. I brought no towel. The shirt I was wearing was skintight and soaked. So I was left looking like Popeye with one eye clenched shut and the other opened just enough to see any cars before they ran me down.
  
  
• Bugs - Unbeknownst to me, there was a rainstorm coming and the bugs were in full force. I am pretty sure I ate two and at least five other winged devils bounced off my forehead at various times throughout the run. This does not include the many new dance steps I attempted swatting at the bugs around my ankles all while trying not to break stride and ruin my rhythm.

In spite of all of this, I completed the run and felt extremely good afterwards. I called Leslie and told her of my endeavor and I heard her mumble "Dammit" under her breath in response. I think she had expected me to back out, but once she knew I had done it - she would have to. That is how she rolls.

So we are a mere 10 days away from this run and we are both nervous and excited about doing this. It's hard to believe that just six months ago I would have laughed uncontrollably at the thought of running a 1K not to mention a 5K.

But here we are, fulfilling a commitment to each other and ourselves.