Back at it...Again

It seems a bit like Groundhog Day, but once again I'm trying to get back into a regular routine of running. Only this time, I've actually gotten out there, four times in the past week.

It hasn't been much, a mile and three-quarters in the longest one. And it hasn't been easy, which makes me a bit wistful of the way I was running last summer, a time when five-miles was a breeze. Of course, I realize that getting out there regularly will eventually get me back to that point, but in the interests of instant gratification...I want to be there now. (In a small indication that I'm progressing, I have lowered my average pace on the 1.25 mile course by 40 seconds or so, from 10'34" to 9'51". It didn't feel that way, though.)

At the moment, I'm concentrating on running just in the local neighborhood, either Old Freehold Road through the Walnut Street School yard, then Walnut Street back to OFR, or up to the High School and back. The weather has been largely cooperative, but we are getting towards the winter months, so I'd like to establish a regular routine before then, because I'm not going to be wanting to get out there when the temperatures are at freezing or below if I haven't.

I'm aiming for a near-term goal of five miles per run, which I should get to by December 1st if I keep this up. Last year, while training for the marathon I didn't run (yet...someday I will, when I can devote four hours on a Saturday to training), I found out about the Manasquan Reservoir, which has a beautiful 5-mile perimeter course around the water. Now, if one could only do it without the assorted other walkers, runners, and bicyclists, it would be perfect. In late spring, I'm going to try again for the Historic Half Marathon, and by try, I mean run the whole thing.

I'm still using Nike+, which seems to be pretty accurate. I've thought about trying one of the other apps, such as RunKeeper, but if it works, why change it. My Nike-sponsored cheerleaders for the first couple of runs have either been Shalane Flanagan or Sanya Richards-Ross.

For a little bit different take on things, check out my friend Roseanne Rappoccio's blog. She's a fellow never-was-a-runner, and has really gotten into it. She says she still doesn't like it, but I'm not quite sure I believe her.

Finally, I've changed up my playlist, too, trying to get a fresh start.

First five songs, old and new playlists:

·         “Armageddon It”, Def Leppard	·         “Out of Our Heads”, Dropkick Murphys
·         “Already Gone”, The Eagles	·         “Sing the Changes”, The Fireman
·         “I Want It All”, Queen	·         “Danger Zone”, Kenny Loggins
·         “She’s A Rebel”, Green Day	·         "If I Should Fall From Grace With God”, The Pogues
·         “Back In The Saddle”, Aerosmith	·         “We Didn’t Start The Fire”, Billy Joel

Baby Steps.

It's been several months, but I finally got out there. Just 1.3-and-change miles (a far cry from the five or six miles I did with ease just a year ago) and it was tough. And in a summer of moderate temperatures and low humidity, I pick the muggiest morning in weeks to go out.

Still, it was something. Now, the challenge is to turn this something into more somethings, at least a couple times per week.

I have a couple of motivations for doing this.

The first, and foremost, is to be healthy. When I was running last summer, I was in the best shape in years, and likely my life. My resting heart rate was in the mid-60s (unheard of for me before then), and my weight got as low as 189 pounds, where I hadn't been since high school. Predictably, a lot of the clothing and uniforms I had either didn't fit well, or actually fit better, though more (much more) the former than the latter. I actually downsized my turnout gear in the firehouse.

Now, I'm back up to 207 pounds (still a lot lower than the 244 I was sworn in at nine-plus years ago), and items that fit much better are getting a little - in some cases more than a little - tight again. I've reached the comfort limit of my turnout gear, and there isn't really an option to upsize the gear again, especially since the fire department is about to put seven new members through the academy, and they'll be taking the spare gear.

I have a goal of running the entire Marine Corps Historic Half Marathon. I've done the race once, but only ran about half of it, with not a lot of training. I want to do the whole thing, and the goal for that is next May.

Another reason is to make studying easier. I'm doing a lot of reading and note-taking in preparation for the Captain's test, tentatively scheduled for mid-November. I'm hoping that by getting in shape now, I'll study better. After all, just about every study out there says your brain functions better when the rest of the body does.

And finally, I'm no spring chicken. Everything hurts a little bit each day, some more than others, and it will only get worse. I don't want to put myself in a position to be hurt at work because I pre-hurt myself by letting things go. Getting into shape, and maybe doing a bit of yoga here or there, might help to forestall that.

http://t.co/9EeTZYabOQ. Sanya Richards-Ross was my post-run motivator.