My sole goal for last week and this week has been to leave my apartment and jog.  No mileage or time goals... though I suppose I have some in my head. 

Today's jog went fairly well considering I had cake for dinner last night and then ice cream for lunch.  Not a very smart two-fer, I admit.... and I could definitely feel I was lacking the energy of my last run.  Though, I cut a minute off my last time.

Mileage & Time:  1.85 miles, 25 minutes
Cat spotted: 4 (2 new ones!)
Insights?  I need to freshen up my playlist already.  Do you suggest any good running songs?

I took a three day break.  I'm not going to be too hard on myself but I need to refrain from two tamale with rice and beans plates from Taqueria Gonzalez on a day I hope to run (Sunday). 

Yesterday's bombings at the Boston Marathon threw me off -- I stopped working and all productivity around 4:30.  Boston's one of the places I call home, and though there's senseless acts of violence perpetrated regularly around the world, it's different when it happens at home.  We're fortunate here in the US that we don't experience this very often.  I always loved Marathon Monday when I lived in the city -- many people have the day off and line the streets with beers and BBQ to cheer on the runners.  I remember beautiful, bright, sunny, warm Marathon Mondays, hanging out on Beacon street, about a mile from the finish.  I remember clearly protesting the IMF and World Bank meetings in DC in 2001, returning late on a Sunday, only to be woken my the sound of F15's along the marathon route the following morning and asking my roommate if we were at war.  Lots of love to everyone affected yesterday and to the families of those who've died.  I hope there is a peaceful solution to this madness.

Today I had no excuse for not running.  I finally felt caught up enough to leave the virtual shackles of my computer, only to find that my iPod was dead.  Now, can't you live without music for 20 minutes?  Yes, but I don't want to.  So I waited.

Good news is I jogged 26 minutes without stopping.  1.84 miles, which gives me a pretty slow, near walking pace.  But the point is to improve and just get out and move, so I'm going to say this is a victory for Val!

Cats spotted:  Only one :( 
Music of the Day:  Loud Pipes by Ratatat

My first two runs were more like jogs.. short ones.  I'm giving myself two weeks -- this and next -- to just get outside and run/jog.  Not mileage or time goals right now, only the achievement of getting dressed and out the door. 

RUN 1 - Wednesday, April 10th
Cats spotted:  4.  Two gray, two orange.
Mileage & Minutes:  16 minutes jog, 6 minutes walk.

Things of note:  Not a very ambitious start, but I found the beginning of a pleasant route from my apartment, and I saw four cats!

RUN 2- Friday, April 12th
Cats spotted: 1.  White and black, squatting on a porch.
Mileage & Minutes: 18 minutes jog, 2 minutes walk.  6 minutes jog.

Things of note: There is so much wild garlic on the lawns of the homes I pass. It is edible!  I made a delicious potato and wild garlic soup last night.

In high school I joined the cross country team because I really wanted to do some kind of sport but was intimidated by the years of training and experience that the others required.  Cross country was different -- I had never run formally before my first practice, and I almost died when the coach sent all of us newbies out on an 'easy' 3 mile run. 

Four months later I could run a 3.1 mile race in under a half hour -- certainly no grand time achievement, but a vast improvement over my first day, so quickly out of breath from starting out way to fast.  By the end of the season I also met my first boyfriend.  So I had fond memories of running in high school.

Fast forward almost 15 years.  Running never became a "habit," though I've had a few sustained periods of increased physical activity.  Since I sit all day, I'm starting to feel a little too stiff for my liking. 

One of my Aril Consulting clients, the Vermont Workers' Center, is teaming up again with their close ally Migrant Justice and holding Exercise Your Rights, a crowdfunding campaign to raise money for the two organizations.  I am on the planning team and like last year will try to raise $1,000 from now til July. 

I'm going to run two races.  The first will be a 5k for Exercise your Rights.  But I want to keep up the momentum, because once I ran my race last August and drank that milkshake I'd been waiting for, I didn't run again.  This year I plan on running a half marathon in mid-September.  13.1 miles.  My goal -- to finish the race and more importantly, to make running a habit.   I love my caloric vices too much to give those up. 

Keep an eye on this blog for my progress and to cheer me on!