First outside run of the year
For a lot of people, today was the first day of spring.
Not the first day on the calendar, but the first day of springlike weather on a weekend.
For me, it meant the first outside run of the year. I’ve been enduring the treadmill for months, and it was great to feel real asphalt under my running shoes.
I noticed lots of other runners enjoying the 60-degree temperature, and as I passed homes along the road I also saw plenty of people in their yards, beginning the spring gardening.
When I got home, my wife was in the yard, clipping off old growth and tidying up flower beds. It’s only a matter of days before the daffodils will be blooming.
It’s too early to plant much, but it’s still great to be outside. I enjoy helping with the garden much more in the spring - when it’s a nice change from being inside and when the temperature’s still cool - than summer when the weeds are growing fast and the sun it hot.
The spring weather has me inspired. I hope this is the year I manage to keep running on a regular schedule through the summer, maybe competing in some 10Ks before the season is over. I’ve been saying that for 10 years, but it seems like I always run out of time, miss a few days, and fall off the training schedule. And once you’ve fallen out of shape, running isn’t much fun.
I started today with a slow 45-minute run - probably about five miles, since it felt like about a 9-minute mile pace. I was happy that I made it without any trouble. I’ve been doing 45 minutes on the treadmill, but it’s not the same.
My goal is to run 45 minutes three times a week, slowly picking up the speed, and to do a longer run, slowly picking up the distance, once a week. Four times a week is about all I can hope to find the time for - and in the past it has worked well for me.
I used that schedule the year I ran a marathon, about 10 years ago. I don’t have any plans like that this year, but I do want to get to the point where I can run 8-10 miles comfortably.
So, wish me luck sticking to it - and lots of beautiful spring days for running.
If you have a running schedule you like, share it.