Pounding the Pavement

So this little item came across my desk at work the other day. I was intrigued:



My first thought was, yes! How awesome! Then I realized a couple of things. One, its next Saturday, as in just days from now. And two, I have yet to run outside since I started my little training a few weeks ago. Yes, I can run on a treadmill a little ways, but running outside on the hard, stationary pavement is a little different.

My plan has always been to start running outside Saturday mornings beginning in the New Year, but I would hate to have my first outside running experience be at an official race, especially one where I would be flanked by my co-workers.

So today I got up early, laced up The Beasts, and headed for the great outdoors on my first street experience. A little trial run to see if I am up to the task.

It didn't go so well.

OK, it didn't go terrible, I guess. I ran for a good 12 minutes before I had to stop and walk for a bit. The impact is a little greater, but I think my sweet new running shoes really helped out. The increased difficulty aside, it is also very weird running through a neighborhood I've driven through before. It seemed like the scenery should have been moving by a little faster than it was. I felt like I was running in slow motion. That stiff ocean head wind didn't make my return run any easier either.

In conclusion, running outside is kinda hard. At this point I'm not quite sure I'm fun run ready.