I'm doing it! I'm doing it!

Okay, so the name is titled after my thoughts as I finished the last weeks of Couch to 5k program. Now, some people may think this program is a little silly - running is just putting one foot in front of the other, right? - but I don't care; it got me started, therefore I am forever in debt to whoever thought of it first...

Anyway! On to exciting things! Such as my birthday present yesterday from R. Yesterday I turned 21. I got back lat(er) from a thing, so I was in a hurry to go on a run with R. Well, I got all changed, got my purse (have to drive to the start of the run) and then someone said "Come on; We need you in R.'s room!" I'm like, oh, okay. I walk in and there's a gift bag on the bed. Mom, of course, is recording the whole thing.

I take out the tissue paper.

I see a large-ish square box with a little running man on top. Do I dare think...?

I don't have to dare. Or think. It's there. Right in my hands. Garmin 305 watch! So much happy! R. had gotten it for me and he wanted to make sure that I had it for our run, in case we didn't have to do much to set it up.

Turns out, you have to charge it for 3 hours (which we didn't have) so I set it up to charge and we left. I came back and set up the user stuff on the watch itself (after cake) and today I'm installing the software and getting that all set up. Why didn't I do it last night? Well, by the time 1:00 rolls around, a person isn't exactly thinking the clearest...Also, I wanted R. to help me, and he was going to bed... thought he had to work today...but it's raining...

Speaking of raining, I hope it lets up! I want to try the watch! Argh! It's not supposed to rain in July here... hmph...

Okay, other things I should mention in a first post? Well, my ultimate goal as a runner is to be an ultramarathoner. You heard me. Only 6 months in and that's my goal. Hah. I'm training for a marathon in October. Should be fun. I keep telling R. "We're crazy for trying a marathon when we haven't even been running 1 year!" but, really, it's not that crazy, is it? Some people's first race is an ultra, for pete's sake!

Right now, I'm slow. Like really slow. I get a 12:33 average pace on a run and I'm stoked. That's fast for me. But I'm getting better! I read Brian Brazier's book Thrive and I ate that way one day (one day because, you know, my birthday...) and today I'm starting again. The run I had on that day was epic; my heart rate stayed steady, my breathing was even and unlabored, my legs felt absolutely fantastic, and I set a distance pace PR. So. I think that's all a good thing.

Now, as it's Monday, I might as well tally up the mileage for last week (which was low because of emergencies and things):

Running: 9 miles
Average Pace: ~12:40 (I think...)
Walking: ~1 mile (pace of about 17:00)
Cycling: None
Week 4 of the marathon schedule begins today!