I ran for the first time in 31 days today. I had neatly skipped the entire month of May.
The good news:
– it was actually sunny, a rare thing of late
– I finished a full 5 km
– while I could feel the ghost of my injured left leg, it never actually hurt during the run
The bad news:
– slow as all get-out
– cramps
– did I mention slow as all get-out?
The trail was damp from recent rain but no puddles, so conditions were fine. It was breezy but it’s been freaking windy all spring, so nothing new there. I had optimistically planned on a 10K run but after a few km knew I’d be better off starting with a 5K instead.
What’s funny is how my first km is actually pretty decent — 5:03 — but it absolutely plunges by the second km to 5:21 and keeps falling off a cliff after that. I guess after a month off I had exactly 1 km of energy in me. 🙂
Here’s a little table showing how this 5K run compares to the last one from April:
| Distance | June 1st | April 30th |
|---|---|---|
| 1 km | 5:03 | 5:03 |
| 2 km | 5:21 | 5:06 |
| 3 km | 5:33 | 5:09 |
| 4 km | 5:40 | 5:12 |
| 5 km | 5:45 | 5:16 |
On the all-thumbs part: After initiating the Nike+ sensor, I put the iPod into the left pocket of my shorts. The first few attempts at this seemingly simple task resulted in me accidentally swiping the click-wheel with a finger and turning the volume up to Spinal Tap levels. I finally got it to a point where it wouldn’t burst my ear drums, but I’ve never had that kind of trouble just putting the thing in my dang pocket. I guess after a month off, even my hands are rusty. 😛
