Five Miles Finished

It will be some time before I wax poetically about running. Right now, I'm just tired.

I just finished my first outside five mile run a long while. No PRs were broken. No one swooned and thought, "Wow, that guy is fast." A dog looked at me funny and a guy mowing a lawn gave me a nod. It's all good.

30:03 out (12:01/mile)
29:00 back (11:36/mile)
-----
59:03

The times are more for myself to give me a sense of how I'm progressing. The big news for me is that I ran the entire way. There are a couple killer hills that make me want to walk each time.

However, I felt pretty good 90% of the time. Unfortunately, that 10% remaining goes 5x slower, so it all feels strangely achy good bad tired upbeat.

Got it?

I also got out earlier than I had been despite only getting 6:30 of sleep. Getting out before breakfast, I believe, burns more calories.

The scale seems to be tilting in my favor, but it bounces around to much to declare any success yet. It is not going the wrong direction, so there's that. My goal is to lose 15 pounds and to have it gone by July 2018. I've only just begun (again).

Feeling Goodish

I climbed down a mountain on Saturday. Walked through a deep forest on Sunday. Today, I jogged.

The mountain is more of a mole hill, but no less a challenge.

The forest is within a suburb of Atlanta.

The jog was, is the same route as before, slightly faster.

3.6 miles.

43:35 - 12:06/mile

As a Monday update, I feel somewhat fitter but have little tangible proof. My weight hasn't really moved. My clothes fit the same. I do feel better.

Beating the Beast

I beat the RRR. The Ridge Road Route.

3.6 miles of up and down. Long slopes of agony. 90% humidity. 80 degrees.

A beast.

44:10 - 12:14/mile.

I'm not bragging. 12:14//mile is not brag-worthy. It, though, is a benchmark.

My legs are tired, sore, and stiff.

I'll live.

Pain, as they say, is weakness leaving the body.

Still aches. Pithy quotes don't change squat.

It Ain't Easy: Hills

The plan was to run 3.6 miles on my new there-and-back route. 1.8 mils each way.

My goal was simple: stay running, no matter how slow, the entire way. Hard?

Apparently. I made 1.25 miles. Walked. Jogged another 1.25 miles. And walked home. My pace was unexpectedly

Hills. Hills. Hills. Hills. Hills. Hills.

Hills.

This route has a name. Ridge Road Route. It has beaten me twice and things don't look good the next time.

It is mostly uphill on the way out in a set of rising tiers. It is short but it does not forgive. I'm not in shape to flatten it.

My scale believes I lost 2.2 pounds over what was about 55 minutes walk/jogging. Since my goal is to lose 15 lbs, I think at this rate, I'll be done in two weeks. If only.

Feels Like the First Time

It wasn't pretty. I joined the 3.0 mile group and ran about 1.5 miles before having to walk. After the turnaround, I jogged/walked. I'll say I ran 2.0 miles total.

I will survive.

To be accurate, "I Will Survive," by Gloria Gaynor really has nothing to do with a good run. Or a bad one. It is a bitter song of a woman trying to hold on after a nasty relationship. My situation is just an out of shape guy running in conditions he's not used to.

Saw several deer within a few meters. And a bunny.

A few good things came from this:
* For that 1.5 miles, I ran about 9:00 pace. I had no idea.
* There were enough runners at whichever pace.
* I can't help but get better.

It is a well-run club. Water stops, water at the store, safe trails on the Suwanee Greenway, good people. There was even a guy passing out Popsicles. I didn't get in on that. Next time.

Rebooting Running (Again)

Once again. Once again. Once again...

I've said it before. I expect (but hope not) I'll say it again.

I've started again.

Walk. Run.

Only now, I'm near Atlanta. Moved.

HHH.

Hills. Heat. Humidity.

I'm joining the running club at the local running shoe store, Big Peach Running. I'm not sure what I'm getting into but the people on Facebook seem nice enough. And they like pie. That's a plus.

The game plan? I don't have one. I bought new shoes. That's not exactly a plan, but it is a start. As I mentioned I joined a club. Sort of. I said I'd show up, though it has no such requirement.

I've run 3.11 miles extremely slowly. Just under 11:00/mile. Mostly, so far (as in the last two weeks), I've walked.

I'll need new courses. New tracks. New races. New, new, new.

Same old, same old?

This isn't a runner-friendly area. Road shoulders are small. Drivers are rude to runners.

There aren't as many running trails as in Chicagoland. The ones I've heard about are short. 9.5 miles. Short. Now, as it happens, that remains long to me. I hope that will change.

I head to the running club tomorrow, if I can get the rest of my schedule together.