It's over, man. Let her go.

Headed up to the track and did some slow jogging/walking.  Started with what ended up being a 10:00 mile. Thought it was slower than that, but based strictly on my HR I would have expected a 7:15...it was definitely high.  Took it pretty easy doing some walking/jogging with some 100m and 200m pickups in there.  Walked about 0.75mi at the end to just cool down and do some thinking.  It was nice to get out even if it was a bit humid.  Here's to a good week back!

Signed up for our company's Running 101 class again and tonight was the first workout.  60 sec walk with 90 sec jog for 20 mins.  Nothing big, but got the heart rate up and got me out for the first time in weeks.  Still fat, but working on it now...

Signed up for the Steelers 5k at the end of August.  This 101 class is prepping for The Great Race, so I'll probably shoot to do the 10k like I did last year. Hopefully, the free code will work for the 10k (like last year), instead of just the 5k that it's intended for. :-)

We've been getting some massive rain/thunderstorms coming through. Last night, then tonight about 15 mins after class, the rain starts and is going sideways! Coworker got 7" of rain over night last night, and the road I was on washed out about 5 cars behind me after traversing the 1+ foot deep torrent!

A bit rainy, but a nice jog this afternoon. Felt pretty good, but could feel a little twinge of a shin splint coming on towards the end...probably from my old running shoes (left my Brooks in the gym bag at work).

Going to try to attend both the Monday & Tuesday evening Running 101 classes since a friend is teaching the Monday night one.  Hope that will help to keep me going. 

Almost went out tonight, but since I left my good shoes at work and after the shinsplint and other aches & pains from Saturday, I resisted.  We'll see how tomorrow goes when I've got good shoes on.  Did some hamstring stretching since they're perpetually tight, and that's supposed to help my sciatic nerve issues down my leg.

Running 101 class:  Jog 90 sec then walk 2mins for 20 mins total (1.61mi).  Wasn't very social today...Wish I could say it was the Pirates double-header with the Cardinals that was distracting me, but it wasn't.  Although they were 1-1 in the first game when we ran close enough that I could see the scoreboard. Took it pretty easy, HR got up to about 160 max which is pretty high for about a 9:00-8:50 pace during the jog portion. Did our stretching then went back to the gym.

Hopped on the treadmill for a few minutes to get a little more mileage in and try to work out some of the soreness.  Did 1min walk; 2min jog @ 10:00 pace on 2% incline.  Nothing real tough, but my HR was getting way up there hitting 170!  I haven't hit the 170's since my Steeler 5k so obviously the body was working hard.  Legs starting feeling a little rubbery towards the end and I didn't even do a mile.

I've got a long way to go...but I'll get there. I'm working hard at staying positive and just taking it easy and building slowly.  I'm just glad I'm coming back since I was close to throwing in the towel on running all together.

The Running 101 class is good for me right now because it forces me to take it easy and not overdo it.  Most everyone in the class is a new runner so there's not a lot of competition to be the fastest in the class.  So it's what I need right now.  I just need to be a better person, be more social and offer any help & encouragement I can to the other runners.