Saturday, Week Two - Exhilaration

I tested my blood pressure at the grocery store yesterday and it was much lower than it has been. Still not perfectly normal, but normal enough. I'd like it to be irrevocably normal though, which was the driving force behind today's run.

After searching a zillion sites for a good training program that didn't start at the couch potato stage but that didn't assume I was jauntily running 5ks between breakfast and mid-morning tea each day, I decided give up. Is it too much to ask for a simple day to day program that addresses intensity, time, rest breaks and so forth on a weekly basis, but that doesn't assume you can't go more than 30 seconds at a time? Or, conversely, does not assume you're speeding along at treadmill speeds surpassing 7.0? To this point, I've been doing a 5 minute fast walking warm-up followed by an initial 5 minute run. Let me point out that run in this case, means jog for most people that aren't as large/inexperienced/frail as I am. I follow the initial run with a 2 minute fast walk and then tack on 10 and 15 minute runs separated by two minute walks and followed with a 7 minute cool down. It works, I'm covering about 3 miles, total. But based on some of what I've read/seen, I decided to put the 15 minute run in the middle, when I have the most energy. It works. I'm planning to gradually decreased the end run minutes and build up the middle minutes - ideally running 3 miles in a pop, instead of broken up.

I find I get shots of adrenaline in 4-5 minutes increments. It's amazing. I swam for 15 years competitively and never felt the rush that running brings. It's like novicaine, morphine, it simultaneously numbs and lifts so I feel like I'm floating. For a minute, nothing hurts, nothing aches, nothing pounds or feels off. I feel like I'm skipping or sliding smoothly. I feel like I could go forever. It doesn't last for more than a minute or two but it's reliably back in four more and I can wait for it, even if the third minute drags interminably. I wonder if the thrill will spread out as I run more often. Will it be every ten minutes? Every 20? Or will I continue to get these four-minute joyous injections that make every sore muscle worth it for days after?

W5 - 3.5, R5 - 4.5, W2 - 3.5, R15 - 4.3, W2 - 3.5, R10 - 4.3, W5 - 3.5, W2 - 3.0 = 46min.