On Tuesday I flew to Santa Barbara, California. The forecast was calling for rain on Wednesday, and with the meetings and side meetings going on for work, I eventually came to the conclusion that the least of evils would be to do back-to-back workouts. The hotel did not have a treadmill, so I took the advice of a co-worker who said this would be a good place to jog. What do you think?
This was my first outdoor run. No iPod, no DVD. The weather was very good, and this moving sculpture thing had me convinced that the wind would be at my back independent of my direction.
Here is a picture of the out-and-back course I ran:
Naturally, I forgot my watch back at the hotel. So, I jogged with a BlackBerry in one hand and my rental car keys in the other. Given that I was running in padded bike shorts, this didn't make me feel any dumber. If you look at the first picture, you might be able to see what I felt - a long, gradual hill. The run started pretty much level with the water, but a little cliff builds up as you go around. That must be why my quads were a bit sore Wednesday and Thursday. Thanks to the calculations I could do with Google Maps, and the clock on my BlackBerry, I know I ran 1.6 miles in 20 minutes which is a 4.8 mph pace. The funniest thing that happened is I answered a call on my BlackBerry while I was running:
Me: Hello?
Friend: Hey, what did you need?
Me: Oh ... never ... mind ... I'm ... good
Friend: Are you running?!
Me: Uh ... huh
Friend: Okay, good luck!
I had called him because I wasn't sure if I was allowed to run on the bike trail. I ended up on a little single-track sort of thing nearby. I can't tell you what a huge relief it was to go for a whole 20 minutes, and it wasn't easy. At about 15 minutes in, I slowed down to the point where my body just wanted to walk. So, I sped up a little. I can't just cave with only five minutes left!
Here I am unwittingly posing next to some trash cans after the run was over:
Thanks to the work schedule and travel, I'll have three rest days to overcome on Saturday when I start Week 6. But given the work-out my quads got, I'm okay with that!
:)
ReplyDeleteNice.. wish my job would send me somewhere warmer so I could run outside... Right now I got snow and ice.. So will you be running outside more often as long as the weather permits or are you going to stick to your treadmill?
ReplyDeleteCongrats on the 20 minute run!! In a weird sort of way, I am looking forward to mine.
I'm hoping to finish C25K on the treadmill mostly. I am hoping my weight and cardio can get better before regular pounding outside. But, I eventually want to be an outdoor runner.
ReplyDeleteGood luck with your 20 minute run!
That is exactly the path I was thinking of; it is a shared path, so you are fine to run with the bikes. There are usually much fewer people on the section between the pier and the hotel, where I usually run. I was wondering why you brought your phone with you on the run; good work on the run.
ReplyDelete