I had my first run since returning from vacation in Spain. My wife asked me if I had a good run, and I answered her by saying, “Not really, but it had to be done.” Now, don’t get me wrong. I do enjoy running, but today’s run wasn’t pleasant. It was hard work and it was painful at times. I didn’t understand why until after my run when I looked at my stats.
The first half mile, I ran hard because I wanted to beat the 10 minute mile pace. Well, I guess I was a little over-zealous, because my first half-mile pace was an 8:34/mile pace. My second half-mile was at a 9:17/mile pace, and I kept it under a 10 minute/mile for the first two miles. Only the last mile went over by a little bit, but that was to be expected after the lack of running as much as I normally do in the last two weeks.
Overall, I am happy with the average pace being under 10 minutes/mile, though. That did make me happy. Also, I pushed myself to do 65 push ups. Well, not really pushed myself, but I was able to do them without much trouble. I could have pushed to 70 or even 75, but I figured there’s no sense in causing myself arm pain tomorrow. Besides, I’m already over the required 60 push ups in two minutes for my Army APFT, so at this point, I’m working on gravy.
I’ve yet to start my sit ups. I need to do that before my next run on Wednesday. I have my first APFT in April, and I need to do my very best. I want to show the soldiers I’ll be working with that I’m ready for the tasks at hand, and that I take this seriously.
After all is said and done, I’m glad to be back to my routine. My legs felt pretty good, and although I’m a bit tired, I’m more relaxed having run. I actually am already looking forward to my next run. There are things I’ll do a little different (like not start off so blazing fast). I need to even my pace a bit more on my runs.
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