Running Day #1 - Am I There Yet?

So today was Day #1 of my return to running. As I mentioned before, I'd like to start being more active again, and not be some lethargic couch potato (man, how old am I, 60?). So running, amongst other things, was added to the list. So I went for my first run at 6:30am this morning (an easy 3 miles with no iPod, no watch, no nothing)...and I figured the best way to sum up my experience was to show you the e-mail I sent to Julie when I got to work...

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That run was miserable, brutal, difficult, and the opposite of fun.

But I'm glad I did it.

I knew today would be rough, but the one thing I failed to realize is that this is the first time in my life I've been COMPLETELY dormant when it comes to athletic activity. Usually I have some sort of base to call upon from being a generally active person, but due to my recent slump in the activity department, I had no base. Not only did I have dead legs and no strength, but breathing was extremely difficult (which I'm sure was worsened with the cold, dry morning air, which I've never run in before). The first two miles was absolutely brutal (especially the turn-around at the bridge where you gotta climb the hill back up to Brigantine), but the last mile I felt like I was somewhat in a "rhythm" (relatively speaking, of course).

This is going to be even harder to get into than I expected, but I'm not deterred. It's just gonna be a huge adjustment because of the my recent lack of activity, combined with the brisk morning air that I'm unaccustomed to.

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So yeah, it was brutal. My legs were moving about as fast as Carrot Top's wit (READ: slow).

Support will be needed...cuz today was zero percent awesome.