Day one

When I told Trea about my goal, he immediately hopped on board and decided he's going to run too. We do everything else together, so I should have seen this coming. Later I began to believe he was only interested in this new hobby because new hobbies mean shopping for new gear. I needed new running shoes, so we both got new running shoes. I first looked for an arm strap so I could run with my iPhone, but someone talked me into getting an adorable little iPod shuffle instead. Guess who else got a new iPod shuffle to match mine. Well, mine is pink; he opted for silver. So after a weekend of impulse shopping and talking about running, today we put our gear to the test.

We went to the park/goose pond walking trail in our hometown, which turned out to be a beautiful area. I had never been on the other side of the pond, and I have been missing out all these years. There's a flowing stream and little waterfalls from all the rain we've had lately; it's perfect. It was a nice, cool evening, and there were lots of other runners out to inspire us. I had downloaded Podrunner interval training for us (Thank you, Amber!), which helps you slowly build up from walking to running. The rhythm of the music tells you how fast to go and when to switch from walking to running. It was so helpful! We started out at a brisk walk, and I was thoroughly enjoying myself. We saw the most perfect runner in the world, and I said, "Look, that's going to be us in a few months." And then the music changed.

After switching from walking to running a few times, I was ready to call it a day. The flowing stream that I loved so much 10 minutes earlier infuriated me when I saw that it was flowing right over the pathway - and into my new shoes. And after the perfect runner lapped us for the 23rd time, I decided that I hated him. Running is hard, y'all. Thankfully, my running buddy had enough energy for both of us and was always a few steps ahead encouraging me not to give up. I finished the whole workout, which was about 25 or 30 minutes of walking and running, and then we walked a little farther to cool down. Podrunner says to complete this workout at least two more times this week. I hope my shoes are dry by Wednesday. I also hope I don't smack my running buddy if I have to hear one more time, "That wasn't bad at all."