Training begins!

Well, okay, that's a little misleading. Sunday was our first team training - we ran three miles around Lake Calhoun in Minneapolis. I've decided that the best strategy for me will be a run walk - so far, a ratio of six minutes running, two minutes walking. I can still cover quite a bit of distance without getting my heart rate up too high (listen to me, talking about heart rates ; ) ) and I'll be less prone to injury. Always a good thing.

By the way, I know I made the right choice training with Team In Training. The coaches and participants are great - there are people faster than me, and people slower (but certainly more persistent.) If I would have known one didn't have to be a rockstar athlete - or injured all the time - to be a runner I would have picked this up long ago.

Just got done reading "Marathoning for Mortals" by John "The Penguin" Bingham and Jenny Hadfield. If you're interested in incorporating running into your life but it always seemed too intimidating, try this book out - it is very accessible and approachable. No need for speed here (though if you've got it, that's great). The have a similar book called "Running for Mortals" for those not training for a marathon or half : )

Did you know I actually started with Cool Running's Couch to 5k program last fall? I started getting too tired doing that (because I was running at 6mph at a 5% incline and wondering why I was dead tired... hmmmm...) and thought, what the heck, I'll try running at a VERY modest pace - 4 mph - to see how long I could. To my great surprise, I knocked off about 20 minutes right there. And so on, it's progressed - my longest distance to date has been 6.6 miles.
Anyway, what a great experience so far. Onward!