Last evening, I finished my 10-week Couch to 5k program with a 35-minute 5k run (about 3.1 miles, with an ascent of approximately 350 feet). It felt somewhat anti-climatic. After all, I’d been building up to it gradually, and had been ahead of the program schedule consistently over the last few weeks, coming in just under 3 miles at my last run. Nope, it was just me walking up to my front door, panting, dripping with sweat, and Sara on the couch saying “good job, baby.”

So now what? I went from being winded after jogging two minutes to fairly easily running for half an hour. What were my goals, other than to motivate myself to engage in a new fitness routine, and just to prove I could do it? Not sure. I’ve mumbled about doing a half marathon, and surely, I have time to train for the Las Vegas Rock ‘n’ Roll (Half) Marathon in December. That seems like a lot of pain and abuse, but … um, it kind of all is. I mean, our bodies were not really designed to absorb the shock of continuous running on hard surfaces.

I definitely plan to keep running for exercise/recreation, though. It’s become something I enjoyed as I was exploring the neighborhoods around my house, and now that my regimented schedule is done with, I can continue the exploration, mix things up (play with sprints, strides, elevations, terrain). And it forces me to wake up early even when I have nowhere to be, which gives me a proper start to my day.

I don’t know if I’ve trimmed off fat or lost weight or anything of the sort. It sometimes feels like my pants are looser. And Sara claims I’ve been literally running off my ass. But if such a thing has happened, then it’s a welcome side effect, but by no means an outcome for which I specifically aimed. But my endurance is increased, and in theory, my cardiovascular system is happier. So … there you go.

Thanks to everyone for your support and encouragement, and, um, see you on the road?