The thighs that ate Nike...

Ok, for 30 bucks a pair of shorts ought to come with some garters that strap around just below your knees to pull the inseam out of you crotch. It ain't gonna look any worse than your shorts being devoured between your legs, is it?? Technical my ass.

Truth is, wearing my new running shorts and tank top was pretty unnerving as I have not worn shorts that didn’t extend to just above the knee in a long while. I also am, um…a little busty so I had a whole kind of Marilyn Monroe (sans blond hair) in Lycra thing going on. I felt pretty naked and self-conscious and when the shorts started crawling I was totally bumming. I only passed a few people along the way and I forced myself to just run and not start fiddling with my clothes as they approached. On the positive – it was hot and humid today and I was definitely glad to not be encumbered by too many clothes, and I was also glad to not have saturated cotton clothing like last time, I think it absolutely helped me tolerate the run much better. The other good news is that concentrating all your efforts on being obsessed about how you look makes the run go by.

Oh yeah, the run…

Now that I’ve whined about my clothes, I have to say I can make no complaints about the run. Again with the 7:1 running/walking and 5 reps this time. It was work, no question, but not that feeling of just trying to stay upright. I’d even say I hit a stride a couple of times. It’s true that fuming about those damn shorts fueled me a couple of times and the time passed more quickly, but when it was all said and done I knew that I had done more and worked less at it then the last time so I guess that’s progress. By Saturday I would like to run those 7:1’s x 6 and then move to 9:1’s. I don’t really have any aches or pains during or after running (other than some hip stiffness, which is not new), so improving my cardiovascular tolerance seems to be the big thing. It feels like it’s happening so slowly – when I think about running something like 30 minutes at a time it seems impossible but I started this all by walking and then running for 15 steps every 1 minute so I guess I’m moving along bit by bit.

Here's something neat...

I was originally thinking of my first race to be a 5 miler nearby in the Utica area, however I was nosing around other running club calendars and found a 5K taking place up north that is in the midst of a bluegrass festival and am presently in the process of coercing the old man to come on up with me - though he's no fan of bluegrass. I just think that a ride up north on the bike and a weekend of camping is about the best way to celebrate a first run!! It's not until June 26th so I'd really like to be running that distance - all running - by then.

Need a new place to run...

I have been thinking that the trail that I run on is nothing but flat and that I really should be opening myself up to some hill-ish areas so that I don't fall flat on the first incline I meet. A big decider in contemplating moving on from my pretty little trail is nature - the buggies, the bees, the chipmunks that won't get out of the way and I actually have to swerve to avoid, and finally the foul smell of swamp as the trail of water that used to be part of the Erie canal stagnates and festers and smells pretty damn creepy. I'll have to look around - running on my own road is not an option as the shoulders have extreme inclines and I nearly have to run on the center line to be level. I'm sure I'll soon be lamenting how pavement or hills feel, but I guess that's progress too.