I ran outside yesterday for the first time in years. Lots of years. And I use the term "run" as loosely as I can...I was swinging my arms and marching along nicely enough, sweating my balls off at 7:30am when it's only 54 degrees outside.
Some of you know, I signed up with my brother to take part in the Michigan Warrior Dash at the end of July. I started working out this January, and things have been going along nicely enough that I thought "why not?". So, I recruited my brother, and here we are, on the homeward stretch of training. I was hoping to be farther along than I am now, but I injured my knee (actually turned out to be my hamstring, at the point where it attaches to my shin) which set me back nearly 3 weeks.
So, I ran outside yesterday. There is a new walk/run/bike path that the city has created along the Bear River, and it's quite nice. It happens to start right at the end of my street, and it connects to the Little Traverse Wheelway which runs around the Little Traverse Bay (Lake Michigan) connecting Harbor Springs to Petoskey to Charlevoix via a nicely paved bike path. The Dash is a 5k, roughly 3.1 miles - so I mapped out a run that would be that far, taking note of landmarks so I could build myself up to that length. My plan is to start off at 1.5 miles, then slowly tick that up over the next 2 weeks until I'm at the full distance. I will then continue to run the full length, but attempting to go faster each time. This is my plan, we'll see how it unfolds.
There are a few things to note about running outside that differ from the treadmill. First, the road does not continue moving underneath you for motivation to keep your feet from stopping running. Second, hills pretty much kill you. I thought it'd be a good idea to run right from my house down to the trail, along the trail for a certain distance, and then back home. Unfortunately, I had to climb Mt. freaking Everest on the way back, at the end of my run. This is not easy, and I thought I was going to have a heart attack....so, from now on I will be starting and ending at the bottom of that hill.
With daily dedication through the rest of this month, and any luck, I'll be ready for the Dash!
