Road Running

I went for my first "road run" of the year today. I did....ok. Not great, not awful. The weather was nice, just coming into rain, so I had that nice uplifting wind to contend with.

I did a small run for starters. The treadmill and the tarmac are different beasts entirely, and I have no good way of tracking my speed while I run on pavement, so I tend to go faster and wear out quicker. I did manage a little over half a mile, mostly downhill, with two very short (less than 5 seconds each) breath breaks. (Allergy season. Sometimes I have to stop and clear my nose. Yuk.) I walked back up the incline and jogged the final flat part back to my street, about a quarter mile long. I was hoping to be able to do that entire street (about 1.25 miles overall), but I had to admit to myself, I wasn't ready for the long hill (it's about an 8° incline, I'd say.)

Tomorrow I'm back on the machine, but I'm adding one extra run a week (for a total of four) on the street. Shorter, surely, but I must get used to the real ground if I'm to do a 5K end of May!