ready set go
i bought a stopwatch at target last night for $9.99 and tried it out this morning. i THINK my route is very close to a 5k, but i go through some residential areas that i can't accurately measure on mapmyrun and i also can't drive them to check with my odometer. anyway, i clocked in at 35:56 and i am pretty happy with that. i might play with mapmyrun this weekend to look for a lightly longer route. i'd like to get run to 40 or 45 minutes and keep it there.
i never liked running. i still think it all goes back to mr. fields, my 7th grade gym teacher. we were doing physical fitness tests and the first time i ran the mile, i did terribly. mr. fields made me (and all the other failures) do it over again. a friend of mine who had passes easily the first time ran it again with me, and i improved my time by more than 2 minutes. i missed the passing time by about 10 seconds, but mr. fields wouldn't pass me. he made everyone who hadn't passed do the mile over and over again (not consecutively), and i quit trying after that. naturally, mr. fields was a very overweight, middle aged black guy who used to fall asleep at his desk on the days he was "teaching" health class. he couldn't have run one lap if his life depended on it. what a douche.
i'm really proud of myself for sticking with this, and i'm finally starting to enjoy my runs. i have an evolving playlist that helps keep me going; i don't know how anyone runs without music. i like trying to improve my time, and running makes me feel strong. i like doing it first thing in the morning. it leaves me feeling accomplished and ready to face the day.
i never liked running. i still think it all goes back to mr. fields, my 7th grade gym teacher. we were doing physical fitness tests and the first time i ran the mile, i did terribly. mr. fields made me (and all the other failures) do it over again. a friend of mine who had passes easily the first time ran it again with me, and i improved my time by more than 2 minutes. i missed the passing time by about 10 seconds, but mr. fields wouldn't pass me. he made everyone who hadn't passed do the mile over and over again (not consecutively), and i quit trying after that. naturally, mr. fields was a very overweight, middle aged black guy who used to fall asleep at his desk on the days he was "teaching" health class. he couldn't have run one lap if his life depended on it. what a douche.
i'm really proud of myself for sticking with this, and i'm finally starting to enjoy my runs. i have an evolving playlist that helps keep me going; i don't know how anyone runs without music. i like trying to improve my time, and running makes me feel strong. i like doing it first thing in the morning. it leaves me feeling accomplished and ready to face the day.