Running Tuesdays and surprise accomplishments

I started this whole running thing out of fear and doubt.  Despite the fact that many people walk entire marathons, despite the fact that the prospect of learning to run isn't any easier than learning to walk faster, despite the fact that far more experienced people have assured me I have no reason to doubt my ability to racewalk my way to the finish line in the given amount of time, I had a miniature freakout about the whole thing.  I wanted a safety net. 

So I picked up my feet and started to run.

It turned out to be both harder and easier than I expected.  My body has adapted more quickly to high impact exertion than I thought it would.  My endurance for it has been disappointing at best.  On Saturdays I've taken to jogging the first bit of every mile for as long as my endurance holds out.  I don't always push myself to keep going as far as I possibly can, but the point at which I become very aware of my desire to stop is usually about an eighth of a mile.  On a treadmill I once pushed myself to do a whole quarter mile (and ended that quarter mile gasping and praying my legs wouldn't just fold under me before I got to the end), but after a rest interval I wasn't able to repeat the distance.  My "run" isn't even really a run, it's a five mile per hour jog.  Still, you've got to start somewhere, right?

My brain isn't only prone to miniature freakouts.  I also have the "make a system for everything so I feel like I have a plan" mode.  I was in that mode this weekend when I came up with the idea to incorporate Running Tuesdays into my workout plan.  There's also the "illogical surge of confidence" mode, and I was apparently in that mode last night when I stepped up to the treadmill to work on my running.  On the drive to the gym I had planned to just run until I felt like stopping and then walk until I felt ready to run again and see how it went.  But when I actually walked up to the treadmill I decided on a new plan: walk a quarter mile, run a quarter mile, repeat for an hour.  Nevermind that I'd only once before been able to make it a full quarter mile, and it was a struggle to do it then. 

So I started up my iPod, started up the treadmill, walked a warmup quarter mile, and then pushed the speed up for a run.  I expected to hit the eighth mile point and want to stop, but ended up making it all the way through the first quarter mile without a struggle.  Actually, I felt pretty good.  That first quarter mile felt rather easy, actually.  The second one wasn't much of a challenge, either.  In fact, it wasn't until I was into my third mile overall that the muscles in my legs started kind of aching from the impact and the fourth mile that I started having to push myself to keep running, and even then there wasn't any of the gasping, sputtering, and praying that my legs would hold out. 

In total, I ran two miles.  Two miles.  I've never run an aggregate total of one mile in a day ever, let alone two miles in an hour.  I know it's not much, but it's a pretty big leap forward for me, and I was honestly surprised I could even do it.

I think I'm going to like Running Tuesdays.