Run on

I've been looking for a hobby, and I think I've found one. It's running. I started the Couch-to-5K Running Plan last week. I'm stuck on the first stage still, but I noticed yesterday that I got a little farther before my shins started killing me.

I got some great advice from a man at my church, Dave, who has run more than 130 marathons. He's 68 years old and runs no less than 10 miles every morning. I talked to him on Sunday, and he had run 22 miles on Saturday and 11 miles before church. He told me not to just run on the treadmill. He drew me a map to a local trail that he recommends, then decided he'd just show me. So, we met at his house after church and walked the trail. That was so nice of him! I plan to go there tomorrow morning as I have the day off. He also told me to run some everyday, not 3 days a week like the plan says. I noticed this week that I'm not as sore even though I've been running everyday. I'm going to try to run a complete first stage session tomorrow, then move on to stage two.

My goal is to run the State Fair 5K on Sept. 30. I told Dave I just want to finish without being last. He told me not even to worry about being last -- who cares? He said there's nothing wrong with walking some during the race; that's not against the rules. But he also added, "That's what I do when I run a 50-mile race. I run for an hour, then walk a little bit." Gee, thanks Dave!