I got over the Hump Day

Yesterday was Wednesday, a.k.a. Hump Day. I got over it by finally completing a full walk/run series. I did not find my watch, and my dislike of any retail shopping around the first of the month has still kept me out of Target and Walmart to get another one. That purchase would be a waste of money now because I found something better--iTunes!

Thank you Robert Ullrey for Podcasts for Running: Couch to 5K. This podcast made my walk/run much easier. I used the stop watch feature on my cell phone the first time out and that was crazy because I had to keep resetting it in 1 & 2 minute intervals...a bit tricky to do while walking and running. I went out on my lunch break yesterday with this podcast on my Mp3 player and it was like having someone out with me to remind me to warm-up, when to run, when to walk, and cool-down. Check iTunes, or www.coolrunning.com for the Couch to 5K podcast.

What beautiful weather yesterday. The sun came out around 1:00pm and the previous day's rain washed nearly all of the ice away. It was around 38 degrees and breezy. My eyes watered in the wind at first. Then my podcast coach told me to start walking briskly. Then he said to start running. Sixty seconds later he told me to walk briskly again. I'm like, "Okay!" I did everything he told me to do. Walk. Run. Slow down to a brisk walk. Ready to run again? Go! And so on until the series was over. And then the neatest thing happened during my cool down. A nice woman was walking with her dog. This precious creature (the dog!) started wagging her tail when she saw me and came right over to me. "Heidi likes people," the woman said. I had to stop and pet her. Heidi is an all-white German Shepard with a pink nose. OMG, what a gorgeous dog! I would love to be able to knock on her door and borrow Heidi for my walks/runs. Meeting Heidi and her owner on that trail by the lake was the highlight of my day. I felt like it was a reward for getting my butt out there. And on the way back to the office I saw a Blue Jay. So cool.

Shoot, I'm going on more about the dog than my walk/run. I felt pretty good afterward. I stretched my legs out pretty well and have very little soreness today. My quads are the only muscles that have some soreness. My calves, shins, and hamstrings are fine. I also slept better than I did the night before. Small benefits are already coming through.

I'm concerned about the weather forecast again. Rain is moving in with a mix of snow tomorrow and Saturday. Yuck. I don't want to join a gym. In short, I hate them. But I couldn't dismiss the advantage of access to a treadmill on bad weather days. Then I had a light bulb moment. My local community center. I joined today. Just $15 for a one-year general membership and I can go to any of the seven centers in my town. And only $10 a month for use of the fitness center with--treadmills! Its the best deal in town.

My soup is finally hot. I'll be at the community center in the morning. Week one is almost complete.