Easy 4

Easy 4 today. I had planned on doing an easy 6, but I woke up 20 late (it's tough trying to stay on a morning schedule!). Anyway, I took the opportunity to do a 4.35 mile loop that I don't do that often. It's good to run different courses.

Not much to say about the run (4.35 miles, 8:44 pace), but it got me thinking... years ago, when I was training for my very first 10k, I ran along part of this course, for a total of 1.5 to 3 miles, depending on... well, whatever (I didn't really have a training plan, other than to hit 4 or so miles before the 10k). Anyway, I remember a conversation with My Lovely Wife a while back where we agreed -- the first three miles of training is the toughest. That is, until you can run three miles without feeling sick, running is awful. It's not fun, it's not encouraging, and we could both agree why so many people gave up. Until you can run 3 miles, it sucks.

However, once you can run 3 miles, you have a very good base on which to build. From there, you can continue to run just 3 miles, or you can increase to 5, or any round number. From there, if you choose, you can set your sights on double-digits. It's nice to be able to say 'yeah, I put in 10 miles this morning'. But the first 3... well, it's quite a challenge.

I can totally understand the run/walk training for the first few months. Based on the non-encouragement of your fitness level, and based on the fact that the first 3 miles suck, by both running and walking up to 45 minutes or so, you are building your base up to be able to run all the time (if you choose). Nothing wrong with that!