More running

Well, A over at Walking the Distance has inspired me. She's been blogging about running, and she just sounds like she loves it. A lot. I ran track in middle school, but even then I had a touch-and-go relationship with running. As an adult, I'm going to try to get over that feeling.

There are a ton of ways to start, but since I work out with my iPod, I decided that a podcast would probably be a good idea. And dang, there are a lot of them. A lot of free running podcasts. :)

I chose a series by Robert Ullrey, Podcasts for running: Couch to 5k (A, you may have planted the seed in my head for this particular podcast -- if so, thanks! It's great!). It's 9 weeks of running, with a different podcast for each week.

What I like best about it is that it's portable and gets you started slow. For instance, this week's podcast is roughly a 25 minute workout, starting with a brisk walk (constant throughout the program) and followed by alternating running for 60 seconds, then walking quickly for 90. I believe there were 8 running sections, followed by a 5 minute cool down.

Let me tell you, I started out saying, "A minute is up already? I could have gone a lot longer ...." and ended not completely exhausted, but with that nasty side-pain you get when you run and you're out of shape.

The downside is that the music is a little ... dancy. I mean, it gets the job done, but it's not the same as my usual workout mix, which threw me off just a little. But, I'll take it, if I have someone else keeping time for me.

Anyway, it was painful, as expected, but I've been home for about 15 minutes, and feel great. My body's got more endurance, and is getting better about recovering quickly. :) All good things.