First Run

Today I went for my first run in CO, at high altitude. I've been putting it off since our return from WI mainly b/c I wanted to make sure I was fully healthy before I started working out again, but also b/c I was scared of running in the altitude. Running and I have had a long history of ambivalence, sometimes I love it, and sometimes it's my worst enemy. And when things get a little rough, I tend to bow out. Now I could go through a long list of things that I regret not doing when I should have, or not at all, but I'll spare you of that. Just know that giving up at the first sign of difficulty or required endurance, is something I've been working on overcoming for a while now.

I've held a long-time goal of running a marathon before I'm 30. I'm 27 and haven't run a race probably since our 5th grade track meets. I played team sports in high school, and I always dreaded the required timed mile. However, I got into running in college, b/c it was something I could do by myself, and it was something that didn't require a gym membership. A few years ago I was friends with an avid runner, and I improved a lot during that time. Then I started grad-school, and the time I spent running became devoted to school and my internship. So, once grad-school was over I started to think about running again. And then thinking about it turned into doing it once in a while, which is about where I am today. I average maybe 2x a week if I'm lucky.

About a month ago I signed up for a training log on RunnersWorld.com, and started logging my work-outs. I've looked at the upcoming races in the Fort Collins/Denver area. As you can imagine, you have your pick of races to do out here. I'm looking at doing a 5k on July 4 here in Fort Collins. My goal is just to get the feel of a race under my belt, see how it feels. I'm working toward a half-marathon, which would be quite the event for me! I don't know that I really have the desire to do a full marathon, and I'm okay with that. I can change my goals, right?

Anyway, back to my first run in CO. I was nervous, but I tried to just imagine it going well. Why nervous? B/c I didn't know how the altitude would affect me, and I didn't want it to feel like I've got a long way to go before I could run like I have anywhere else. So I finally decided to hit the pavement today, after thinking about going everyday since I got back. I said to myself, "Just get out there and DO IT ALREADY". So I headed out to the road at the entry of our neighborhood, and ran this road west to the next intersection (about 1 mile) and South to the next intersection (another 1 mile or so). Immediately in my run I'm confronted with a huge hill (probably not that huge, but there are NO hills in Wichita, so it's something that'll take a little getting used to). After I leveled out, I felt pretty good. For the most part, I felt pretty good on the run. My lungs burned a little bit, and I'm coughing tonight, but it felt good to get out there. So that was encouraging. What was NOT encouraging, was the fact that I was running in the bike lane, on a road with very heavy traffic. The wind had also picked up considerably since I had started. Besides the amount of exhaust I probably inhaled, I couldn't quite get focused on the run and my pacing. My mind was on fighting the wind, feeling propelled by traffic the entire time, and the horrible smell of diesel and trash passing by me. I had my IPOD, which helped, but not as much as I would have liked. I'll have to figure out the trails in this town so that I can avoid the traffic.

The thing I like about running is that it's just you, out there, competing with yourself and meeting little goals. I meet little goals every time I run. "Make it to the next stop sign", "Up this hill and then you coast", "5 more minutes and then you can walk". It's the little victories that get me back out there. And for someone who tends to give up when the going gets tough, the little victories are what count. Today I won a small victory...by just GETTING OUT THERE and getting the first one overwith. It only gets better from here.