One of my 43 Things Goals is Run 1 Mile Without Stopping. I’ve also got 2, 3 and 5 miles. But you’ve got to start somewhere, so 1 little mile is the first goal.
I’m in week 4 of the Couch to 5K program (see my cardio page for more info) which means the most I run at any one time is 5 minutes. I’m currently running at a 12:45/mile pace, which means when I do run I’m not even running for a half mile.
I didn’t exercise yesterday morning so when I got home from work the first thing I did was hop on the treadmill. I decided that rather than do my normal 5 minute warm-up walk and interval running and walking that I was going to go for that first goal. I was going to run a mile.
So I strapped on my heart rate monitor, laced up my shoes and hit the treadmill. And I ran. My heart rate got up into the 160s a couple of times, but really once I got into a groove it wasn’t that bad. Quarter mile gone. Half mile. Three quarters. And there it is - I completed my goal of running one mile without stopping.
But why stop there? I felt pretty good - could I go for two miles? Inconceivable!
So I decided to run for up to 15 minutes. And when that passed, to get to 1.25 miles. I was still going strong, time to push for 1.50. At this point my thighs were feeling it. I could have quit and been very happy to achieve my goal. But I couldn’t stop now, I was so close. 1.75 miles. A lousy quarter of a mile to go. One ring of red lights on my treadmill. My thighs burned. My heartrate was touching 170.
But I had written this goal down, and I looked at it every day. And it was in sight. So I pushed on.
And damn if I didn’t hit the 2 mile mark after running for 25 minutes, 34 seconds straight.
3 miles would have to be saved for another day.
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