Run Like In the Wind

Short Story: I ran outside on a beautiful, albeit WINDY day though I was very nervous and scared to.

Long Story: It was a dark and stormy night... NOT... :)

Friday was a beautiful, sunny high 60s here in our part of Oklahoma. It was gorgeous - WINDY, but gorgeous.

A friend of mine in Arizona texts me in the morning that she was headed out for her run and I got this idea, "Since the kids are home today I should take them to the park and go run outside for my workout."

Then I got nervous and tried to talk myself out of it. I even had a good chat with a friend in the afternoon and told her about my fears with regards to running outside. I told her I might still go to the park, but I really doubted I'd run.

It's the wind that scares me. And the use of different muscles. And the wind. And some smoky air we had from grass fires nearby that day. And the wind.

Yea, so in the gym the only wind is the huge fans and I love that kind of breeze. Outside, here where the "winds go blowing down the plains.." it's a whole different story. It really can be tough to run. I know it's only tough for half the track, because it's an oval, but still. It scares me.

I think it's also a great mind battle for me. When I'm running on the treadmill my feet have to keep up with it, or I can slow it down. Usually I can psyche myself up to keep up the pace for however many more minutes, but outside I don't have that ability. I get a little winded, or am running against a strong gust of wind and feel like I can't do it.

Or... I see other people running and realize just how slow I really am. On the treadmills everyone is in the same row as me, no matter how fast they run. Outside I'm faced with the stark reality that I'm a very slow beginner "runner".

All of this makes me nervous to run outside. So, I went to the park with the intentions of walking, unless I couldn't stand it and decided to try and run. This has happened before in the past.

Well, of course, I couldn't stand it. I stretched really good, and started out at a good jog. I allowed myself to be a little slower than the 12:00 min mile I can do on the treadmill, but not too slow. Thanks to my new Garmin I got for Christmas I was able to keep track of my pace - that's another story for another time.

I finished up two miles in 25:49 - slower by just under 2 minutes from my treadmill time. Not too shabby for a windy afternoon, and my first outdoor run in almost six months. I then proceeded to speed walk another 2 miles (yea, about 4.0 mph speed and passed the other walking people, like you, Diane!!!).

It was a great workout and I'm so glad I faced my fears and did the run outside. It was a nice feeling and having my little "coach" in the shape of my Garmin really helped me realize I could do this.

There just might be more outside runs in the future. If I can keep this up I might someday just be able to run like the wind instead of solely in the wind. :)