Day 27: A Change of Pace

Yesterday was a BEAUTIFUL spring day, and I decided that I'd change things up a little bit and take a break from the treadmill.  I walked/ran around the park behind my apartment several times instead of running on a treadmill indoors staring at a wall.  Physically, it was more challenging, but mentally it was MUCH more pleasant.

I may have to start back at week 3 or so running outside because although those streets looked flat while I was in a car they really are at a slight incline, and I'm convinced now that the whole route is uphill.

For the first few times around I used the C25K app, but I wasn't able to follow the schedule, at least not week 6.  I was able to keep running for two minutes, but I realized that I wasn't going to make it to eight, so I just quit and started walking.  It's not as big a deal if on a treadmill you have suddenly reached your physical limit, but when you're a mile away from your apartment with Jell-O legs, that is a big deal.  I am going to back up to week 4, I believe, and maybe stay there for a few weeks until I get used to it...

I had already gone over two miles in thirty minutes (indicating that my inability to endure as long probably had as much to do with pace as it did with incline) but I decided to continue walking another mile using my Strands GPS workout tracker for iPhone.  It worked really well, and I was able to track my route and measure the distance more accurately than saying "well, it's about a mile."  My route was 1.13 miles each way, and I went around three times, so I'm rounding it to 3.3 miles...

It's discouraging at how much less I can do outside than I could on a treadmill, but I am going to try to keep a positive attitude about it and just go back as far as I need to and start with a clean slate.  I know I can still do this.   I may have to go back a little bit, and I may have to find a flatter place to run, but I can do it.

Distance: 3.3 miles
Time: 45 minutes(ish)
Outside!