Firsts

Yesterday I ran alone. That was a first. I have always run with Mike, Alyssa, or with members of our running group, not yesterday though, it ended up just me. I must say that I really did not like it very much. I had to do way too much counting! We have not yet acquired our GPS contraption that, evidently every runner needs, that calculates miles, steps, time, and beeps when you Pre-set a determined time or pattern of times, therefore we must count steps. Mike has calculated approximately how many steps we run per minute and we time our run-walk-run pattern accordingly. All that to say, Mike is the one who is calculating and counting...not me. I just run and let him do the counting! Well, if I am alone, then I must count to keep on track, not fun, pretty boring. Wow, I appreciate Mike's counting a whole lot more now!

I have discovered that as I engage in this running adventure, I am encountering many "firsts". There is the "first" Saturday in January that Mike and I woke up at the ridiculous-for-a -Saturday hour of 5:45am to run with our "Beginning Steps" running group. Then there's the "first" time I realized I really didn't have any appropriate running clothes, and as soon as possible bought my "first" running duds. Then there is the "first time" we ran two miles, and then the "first" time we ran three! Then there's the "first" time we joined the "real' running group(not the beginner group)to attempt running part of their 7 mile run, they left us in the dust as we are still very slow!!. Then there's the "first" time I tried running in a wilderness trail and getting my shoes and socks really dirty. Then there's the "first" time last Thursday we took a trail with the regular running group and ran to the dam and back, our furthest to date, 3.4 miles!! I have bought and read my "first" book on running. And humbly I will admit the "first" time (and hopefully the last!) that I tripped over a rock and fell! How embarrassing, I scraped up my knees and hands...I do not remember it hurting that much when I fell as a child! I am enjoying all these "firsts", well except for the fall, and am looking forward to the many more "firsts" to come!

My friend Skip, is the official photographer of our running group, and also the one who invited us to join the beginner's group, has photographed us along these past weeks. He has agreed to let me use his photo's on my blog! Thanks, Skip! So, hopefully in the next week, I will have photo's to show you many of these"firsts" that have happened along the way!