Falling Off the Wagon

Today’s running adventure began as any other; Chavonne and I debated on whether or not to run inside, we prepared our literature and music and got off to a steady start. Today, we switched machines and I ran on a more technologically advanced model that accurately keeps pace; apparently I could not handle this and fell almost immediately into our run. While reading, I dropped the book onto the treadmill and while tracking it, fell right down onto the machine. After pausing a moment to reflect and collect myself and with the help of Chavonne, I realighted the machine and tried my luck once more. However, immediately into the run portion (seventeen seconds to be exact), I fell again over my own feet and we decided to halt the run. I am so angry and embarrassed at myself for ruining our schedule and halting Chavonne’s progress. Hopefully, I can get back into form tomorrow.

On Addictions

Wednesday’s run was my first evening run and I have to say that I really loved it. The water was quiet and calm and there was a very slight breeze that kept me feeling cool and relaxed. We managed to forget our watches because we had originally planned to run on the treadmills, but they were occupied. So in lieu of running by the clock, we planned our run by landmarks and ran about a third of the mile-long track.

The first run was very difficult; my legs felt like lead and I struggled to get through it. However by the second run, I had a lot of my energy back and I was prepared to continue on. Although our run was cut short by darkness, I learned a lot about my running style in the process. I learned that the enormous amounts of salt I ingest through foods and condiments has really slowed my body down and that’s why I am planning to drastically reduce and then eliminate my soda consumption.

Doing so will allow me to reduce the amount of salt and fluid my body retains and save me around twenty dollars per month. However, going cold turkey as I have tried a few times before results in my getting dramatic headaches, I suppose due to caffeine addiction. So, I will have to play this just right, but the benefits are too great to ignore. Wish me luck.

On the First Time

On Friday, Chavonne and I had our first re-committed run as a marathoning couple and I have to say, it really was a challenge and a gift. We walked and ran a split of five minutes each, and the pace we were able to keep was pretty impressive over our three miles. The runs remained difficult and my feet in particular continued to hurt as I was breaking in a new pair of running shoes with insoles. At one point, I was passed by a blonde woman whose pace inspired me to do my best to keep up and I managed to run about a third of a mile over the five minutes; that may not sound like much but it is a fairly major achievement for someone with as sedentary a history as I have. The second-to-last run was by far the most challenging; my stomach began to cramp, by calves and hamstrings began to burn, and my mouth began to choke with bile. I was fairly positive I would throw up into the city reservoir, which would have been an ecological disaster to say the least.

However, the walk restored my strength and my breath and I even found the energy and drive to sprint the last fifty yards to the finish so I could make a time under fifty minutes for a pace of sixteen minutes and forty seconds. I could not believe I had it in me to sprint as fast as I did which, again, is not objectively fast, but an achievement nonetheless.

The best part (other than finishing and sitting in our air-conditioned car) was seeing the look of happiness on Chavonne’s face as we both pressed and encouraged each other to run harder. It really drove home the point of why we are running in the first place for me, which is to extend our lives with each other by getting healthier. I want to be able to play with our future son (named "Noah," we believe) without getting short of breath; I want to live to see him grow up; and I want to live to protect and love my wife as long as I possibly can. Maybe marathoning is only a step on the road to better health and better lives for both of us.