The first day

Today marks the first day of my "training." I keep putting "training" in quotes because I feel like it's not official since I'm doing it by myself. I suppose I should give myself a little more credit. After all I'm a librarian and research is basically my thing so I've certainly done my homework. I have every single day mapped out (including rest days) from today until the day of the 5K. After speaking with some local experts and doing all my research I know I have more than enough time to be ready for it as long as I keep up with my schedule and at the same time pace myself. Many beginning runners quit soon into it because they try to do too much too quickly and injure themselves or become frustrated. I'm going to try to avoid this.

My biggest worry? Pain. At times I can be kind of a wuss about it but the more I read, the more I know this is a temporary situation (with the exception of injuries). I'm not exactly what most would call in shape right now so I know I'll be facing some challenges in the future. But after how much I pushed myself on the backpacking trip with J, I have a lot of confidence that I will find the strength. I also know that the more in shape I get, the less pain I will experience. I've been learning all about the scientific reasoning behind pain, lactic acid build-up, aerobic and anaerobic exercise, all that sort of thing. It's really quite fascinating and I like thinking about it when I'm running.

I've decided to start on a track and work my way up toward park running. The local parks are slightly hilly and I want flat for the first couple of weeks.

On another note, I'm really excited because J and I have 3 gigs coming up and I can't wait. We have officially come up with a name for ourselves: "Fireside Story." We're really excited to start working on some new material and to perform in the area! Hopefully we'll get some pics soon for publicity.

That's all she wrote.