25 Nov 2008

So, as I said, yesterday was my first "official" day of training, and was listed on my training schedule as "XT" (Cross-training). Of course I had no idea what this means (I have since been informed it basically means any non-running form of exercise: biking, swimming, yoga, etc). But at the time, not knowing what to do other than "something," I decided to run some intervals.
I set the timer on my watch for 5 minutes, and set out into the night. Well, into the dark (it was only 630pm). I started with a slow slow warm-up jog for the first 5 minutes, then moved to a slow jog (my normal pace, about a 10-minute mile) for the next 5. Then I increased my pace to a fast jog; something strenuous, but sustainable. Or so I thought.
After my first 5 minute fast jog interval, I was ready to keel over, so I shortened the interval time to 3 minutes. That seemed to work a lot better, and I made it through the rest of my workout with a smile on my face, although I was pretty tired at the end! I'm looking forward to today's "short run" (i.e. it's just a straight 3 mile run, which is my usual routine, anyway).