Day 29: The Scenic Route

Today was much nicer.  I have switched, at least temporarily, from the C25K app to the Strands App, and it has been good to me so far.  It tells me every five minutes how many minutes I've been going and every mile how many miles I've covered, which is pretty much all I need.  Then at the end of the workout I can upload everything onto the Strands website and have a record of all my workouts.  It's so nice to not have to write stuff down anymore afterwards.

Oh, and the app lets you take pictures while you use it.  I took this one today:

I went kind of the same way as I've been going, but with a little difference.  I decided to loop around Kiwanis park, and then I went through some of the residential area and went exploring.  My goal was to keep going for three miles, to keep walking briskly, and to run when the mood struck me.  I even skipped a little while after looking around to make sure no one else was around to see it.

I realized why I've been struggling outside - or at least part of the reason.  I have not been properly pacing myself.  I've been trying to lean forward from my ankles and pump my arms back rather than forward, and that has resulted in increased speed.  I covered three miles at the same pace as I ran 2 miles on the treadmill when I was running full-on, so my average pace is at least where it was on the treadmill and I enjoy myself much more.  I no longer feel bad about my running performance outside, although eventually I need to work up to handling 9th East (a hill that is only a slight incline but seems to never end) at a run, but just running the flat grassy parts is still a good workout for me.

And just like that, I'm happy with running again.  Just in time for May, and the starting of my experimental food journal on Monday.

Today's Workout:
3.19 miles in 46 minutes
Pace: 14.32 min/mi