Off-Plan Run 1

Date: 12/2/09
Time of Day: 10:00 PM
Location: Marriott Route

Conditions: 43-45 degrees F, windy, light rain (35-38 degree wind chill)
Music: New Yorker Fiction Podcast
Clothing: Long sleeved wicking shirt, compression shorts, shorts (note that I am eschewing brand names from here on out, as it's hard to keep up with)
Shoes: Nike Air Pegasus 26+

Last week I had a bad bad week. We all knew it.

This week so far hadn't started out too great either. The Predators played on Monday night, which again put my arrival home at too late to do anything worthwhile. Then Tuesday night, I just felt plain crappy. I don't know if I was sick or just exhausted, but I didn't feel like all the Patten I could be.

Finally, last night...I was able to get started with my Off-Plan runs.

Needless to say, I had no idea how it was going to go. Essentially, I haven't run in a week...and haven't run significantly in almost a week-and-a-half. While I really wanted to Gallowalk enough intervals to at least get 20 minutes total running time, I was just going to go as far as I could and re-establish my fitness base. I knew that while taking a week off doesn't help...it also probably didn't totally wreck what I had built up.

So...I hit the door. First thing's first...it was chilly. It was raining and the wind was blowing heavily. As I walked to my starting point, all I could think was, "I should have worn gloves." But, since I was already out the door, that wasn't an option. Next time.

I reached my starting point - a fire hydrant - ran through some quick stretches, made sure my shoes were tied appropriately and took off.

Since I don't have an iPod app to help me here, I had to improvise. I pulled out my Timex IronMan watch, set the timer to 1 minute and started the stopwatch function. The alarm went off at every one minute interval and I would check the stopwatch. If the minute portion of the stopwatch ended with a 4 or a 9, I would walk. If not, I ran. It actually sounds more convoluted than it was...it was really quite simple.

My first 4 minute run was easy. Almost too easy. When I say it was easy, I mean...it was easy. There was no struggle, there was no push, there were no mind games. That was a good sign. Two months ago...4 minutes was unheard of, yet during this run, it was absolutely nothing. I knew it wouldn't stay that way, but it was good to know.

The first 1 minute walking portion flew by...before I knew it, I was running again. The second 4 were not so easy, partially because it was a hill...and partially because I discovered quickly that the 1 minute walks were so short that they were not breaks so much as brief bits of recharging. At this point, I wasn't to the 1 mile point...I thought to myself, "I can probably get one more interval in." I figured 12 minutes of running would be a good start. Plus, I'd have time to walk back and listen to the rest of my short story.

After the second run, though, the 1 minute flew by and I was off to the races again. As I mentioned, I was planning on the third run being my last and I finished it just as I hit the one mile point. The third run was the hardest yet. However, I still had some juice left.

Now, in my head, I determined that I could get to 15 minutes. I'd run a minute and walk a minute for the next 3. So, when the 1 minute walk ended, I kicked into gear...but after the first minute of running ended, I decided...may as well try for 2. When I hit 2, I was like...hey, we'll just finish this one out.

With 16 minutes of running in the bag, I had 1 minute to figure out what to do. I didn't know how much I had left in the tank, so when my alarm beeped at me, I just kicked into a run to see what would happen. Before I knew it...I was done. 20 minutes of running in the bag. Frankly, I didn't see that coming.

What I really didn't see coming, was what came next. My timer went off again and I thought, "What the hell?"

I ran again. Minutes 20-24 of running...probably the hardest of the day, but I didn't have a doubt in my mind. I devised my new plan.

Instead of turning back home when I hit my usual turn, I crossed the crosswalk. My minute walk ended in the middle of the crosswalk and I high-tailed it again. Again, this 4 minutes wasn't easy, but it was extremely doable. I don't really remember anything aching.

28 minutes done. By now you should know what I was shooting for. Last one should be easy. If not easy, at least not impossible. After all, I was only running 2 minutes. The goal was 30 minutes. More importantly, the max was 30 minutes. In the back of my mind, that was my pre-established maximum...but I never thought I'd actually be here.

Yet...over 2 miles down the path (as I've mentioned before...I'm not fast...yet), the timer beeped. 30 minutes of running done...in 37 minutes.

Without a doubt, this was the best run I've had so far on the plan. To be honest, I probably could have finished the 20 last night, but I've decided that until I can do it every time, I probably shouldn't attempt it.

I think I'll repeat the exact same exercise at least one more time before I start increasing the length of the runs. I'm also considering adding a 4th day of running to each week. I was thinking of alternating running and walking every 30 seconds for as long as I could do it on Saturday.

The best part is that my confidence is back and I feel like I'm doing something again.