Game On!

Today is Nike's "Game On" day, a day where they challenge everyone to run, walk or move somehow.  I also had a homework assignment this weekend from the November Project folks to write up my workout from this weekend.

Well boys, I did a couple.  My sister and I went out to walk a couple of miles yesterday.  We both needed it and it's something both of us would have had no time for if we didn't do it together.  It was hot and sweaty and it felt good when I sat down in my parents' air conditioned living room for a glass of water before I headed home.

This morning was the tough one for me.  I used to get up on a Sunday morning and go for a run as a habit.  I fell out of the habit a while ago and it's been a struggle to get out the door since.  I admit I was discouraged.  No matter how hard or often I went out to run, it always seemed like running continuously was just out of my reach.  When I got home last night, I told myself I had to run this morning.  There were no ifs, ands, ors or buts about it.  So before going to bed, I put my running gear in the bathroom so there'd be no excuse.

At 5:00 Odin cat work me up.  Yes it was a "If you can see this, you're awake enough to feed me" moment.  It always is that time of day and he gave my nose a little nip to make sure I knew he knew that I wasn't still in the land of nod.

I rolled over and drifted off for about 15 minutes while he head butted and squeaked and otherwise tried to get me to feed him when I finally gave up hope of sleeping.

Victory #1: I didn't give in to the thought, "I'll just go down and take care of kitties and then get dressed.  Instead I made myself get dressed and go downstairs.  I watched the morning news, reminded cats they don't get fed until after 6 (like they listen anyway) and dug out my running shoes, earbuds and case.

Victory #2: I was on the road at 6 am.  My initial thought this morning was running 2.6 - 1/10th of what the men would be running in London.  Instead I pushed myself.  I know if I can run 3 miles continuously, I can train for a half marathon.  Today wouldn't just be homework, it would be an assessment. (I'm in the teaching trade we no longer call them tests ;) )  How far could I run continuously?  Was I ready for some real training after 6 weeks of working out?

Victory #3: I set the Nike+ settings on my phone for 5k, started running and didn't stop until I passed the 4.6k mark.  That's right, just inside that 1/4 mile circle back to the house, my hips finally caught up with my mind and shut me down to a "walk it off" pace.  Too bad, I was on my way to a negative split until that point too.  But the point is, I ran 3 continuous miles without walking.

For some people, running 3 continuous miles is nothing.  It's a light workout.  For people like me it's that just one victory to get me on my way.  Not only that, my final pace - even with the walking - was 12:25.  When I got home to sync my run, the badge popped up to tell me I earned the Nike Global Game On badge for running today.  Perhaps I'll take a trip into Niketown later see if they have a special shirt or something... I feel like I need to celebrate this mental victory.

So now, with the sounds of the mens' marathon in London in the next room to encourage me, I'm laying out a training plan for the Tufts 10k in October.  I'll pick a half for some time beyond that.  So yeah, I did my homework and passed my assessment.   Life is good.