Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea after all*

Today I ran outside (as opposed to on a treadmill) for the first time.

So…. Good news or bad news first?

Let’s start with the good news. I woke up without too much trouble at around 6 am, which, well… Wow. I headed out in the sub-freezing temperatures, I wasn’t even cold. In fact, I would say I was the perfect amount of not cold but not hot, especially after I took off my gloves.

And more good news. It didn’t really feel like exercise. I mean, I guess it felt more like exercise than anything else, but running when you’re actually moving forward is way better than running in place. There’s all sorts of things to think about besides how boring and painful this is. Like: where am I going? And: if yet another runner passes me going twice my speed, I’m going to trip him. And my favorite: look, the sun is finally up and now it’s in my eyes!

And the best news is that I actually did run four miles. It took me just this side of forever (I probably could have walked faster, and no, I don’t really understand how that works), but I did it.

But the bad news is, well, not to be all tautological or anything, but it’s bad.

First of all, four miles? Is A LOT farther than I thought it was. I had a whole route planned out in my head that I was sure was about 3.5 or 4 miles. Turns out, it’s 2.25.

And my neighborhood? Is REALLY hilly, and mostly up. I mean, yes, if I ran in one direction and then doubled back, there would be an even amount of up and down, but I was looking for a loop, and this morning’s loop? Was majority uphill both ways. Which is seriously tiring, y’all.

So I ran real slow. Which would be fine, because I had plenty of time this morning. But if I’m trying to run twenty-six miles at this pace… Well, I might need a hotel room for the halfway mark.

But (back to good news) the human brain is fabulous at forgetting pain. Or maybe that’s just me. So even though this morning was über hard, that memory has all but faded already.



* I am really, really hoping that six months down the line, this entry will serve as a humorous reminder: “Wow, look how far I’ve come! I can’t believe I thought that was hard.” Instead of: “Gee, do you remember when I thought I could run a marathon? I must have been on crack! Are there any cookies left?”