Oh, my aching muscles

My legs have been aching since last Saturday. It's been a while since I put them through this sort of strenuous exercise. It's a good kind of ache, though. My training officially started this past Saturday when I decided to run 5k and see how long it would take me. There's a website that Angel told me about, SparkPeople (linked on the side of this page), which has messageboards for people looking to get into shape, among other things. There's a particular messageboard for "Rookie Runners" which does a monthly 5k challenge, asking members to run 5k over the weekend and post their time on the board. I figured that this would be a good way to start off my training with a bang, despite not having run farther than a mile in forever.

So last Saturday morning, I decided to step foot in a Gold's Gym for the first time in at least a month (Yes, I know, every month I don't go, I'm wasting $40...). I was feeling extremely proud of myself for getting up at a decent hour, eating breakfast, and heading to the gym, instead of my usual Saturday morning routine, which involves lying in bed until my stomach's about to digest itself or I've gotten bored with the Internet. With my new running shoes on and my spirits high, I set forth to walk to the gym, which is about 3/4 of a mile from my house. And... I promptly got lost. Yes, I got lost less than a mile from my own house. In my own defense, I've only been living in this neighborhood for about, uh, 2 and a half months. So I ended up taking the "scenic route" to the gym, tacking on another mile to my trek. No problem, I figured, it was a good warmup! I was ready to hop right on the treadmill and breeze through 5k (3.1 miles to you non-metrically inclined folks).

The run itself actually went quite well. I tackled it in intervals, walking for 90 seconds at a 3.5 miles/hour pace, and then running for 90 seconds at 6-6.5 miles/hour. I completed it in 38 minutes and 10 seconds, averaging to about 12.5 miles an hour. By the end of the run, I was completely dehydrated and more red-faced than Ted Kennedy, but I was an actual runner. Fueled by the endorphines, I then dropped $200 on Christmas gifts in the shopping area near the gym and walked on home with 4 heavy shopping bags in hand. So I guess my legs AND my wallet are aching.

Lessons learned from the run:
- I really need to learn how to navigate around my own neighborhood.
- Bringing a bottle of water with me on the treadmill is a Very Good Idea. I think I sweated out a full pound of water.
- If I don't start rewarding myself with other things besides shopping, this running habit is going to be very expensive.