WEEK 1

Greetings,

This week went pretty well. I ran/walked for 30-minute sessions on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday, cross-trained on Tuesday and Thursday, did some weight training on Thursday, and relaxed on the beach on Saturday. My goal was to be able to run 5-minute intervals, and I was able to go a bit above that goal: by Sunday I was able to do 6 minute run/2 minute walk intervals. No real aches or pains, but I was a little sore after lifting weights on Thursday.

I decided that I would follow the advice of many running experts and run without headphones for safety reasons (except on the treadmill). Headphones are now banned from many organized races, so I wanted to get used to running without music. And it's not as bad as I thought it would be. I mixed it up a bit by running in different places: on the treadmill at the gym, on Kelly Drive, on the track at Haverford College, and a trail through Fairmount Park, to keep things from getting monotonous. While I love rocking-out to my favorite tunes while working out, running without music turned out to be quite enjoyable, and safer. Plus, if I were wearing headphones, I wouldn't have been able to hear all the encouragement from other runners I encountered.

For the most part, runners are extremely aware of each other and don't hesitate to acknowledge each other. Almost every other runner I encountered gave a nod, or a wave, or a "Good morning!" as we passed each other. At the track there were a handful of walkers and runners who, I guess, were regulars, an older guy even said, "I haven't seen you around before. Welcome! Glad you could join us." While running on the trail, I began to slow down to walk and two guys passing me said, "Come on, you can do it!" And another young woman on the trail surprised me saying, "You go girl! You look great!" It was all very encouraging, especially as a beginner to the sport.

Also, it's easier to dissociate (zone-out, in runners lingo) when running with music, which can be a good thing or a bad thing. It's OK on the treadmill because it's completely boring to run on a treadmill (unless there's a TV attached), but there is no chance of getting hit by a car or a cyclist, or tripping over a crack or rock in the road. But one needs to be very aware of these things and more when running outdoors. At one point on the trail, I was being followed by two people on horseback. If I was wearing headphones, they would have definitely startled me when they passed.

And more interestingly, running without music allowed me to be a lot more aware of myself: my breathing patterns, my form, and how my body felt in general. Instead of being engrossed in the lyrics of Lil Wayne, or a tight Timbaland beat, I thought, "My quads feel a bit tight. Make sure you stretch well afterward," or "Oooh, stepping in that little pot hole did not feel good on my left knee. Let's keep an eye on that to make sure I didn't really injure it," and "Don't lean forward too much. Your back is gonna hurt later if you don't run upright."

Next week, I plan to continue to increase my run intervals from the current 6 minutes to 10 minutes by the end of next week. Stay tuned to see how it goes!



Looking forward to week 2,

Almost Thirty