Team Vegan Week 2

How about that? I get to jump to week 2 already because the San Francisco kickoff was technically week 1!

The trip to San Francisco was a little iffy because of the forecast of rain...but the night before the skies were clear and I could see stars, so I was pretty sure that the rain would hold off. I set the alarm for 5:15am and hoped for the best. On Saturday morning I woke up, made myself some oatmeal, packed my gear and by 6:15am Daniel and I hit the highway en route to the Golden Gate Bridge and Fort Mason Center. Thank to the iPod and This American Life podcasts, we made it through drizzle and a bit of rain (no fog! yay!) to meet up with the group right at 9:15am.

And what a group it was! Everyone was so nice! And so young! And so fit. Marathon Matt is a cool guy -- he thought it was great that I decided to go for the 2-mile run instead of the 1-mile workout. I thought it was pretty cool, too. That I voluntarily ran for twice the distance that I had been asked to is a pretty big deal.

We learned some stretches and got some pointers on form and cadence. (Did you know that it's more efficient and easier on your body to take many small steps than fewer long steps? The magic pace is 180-190 steps per minute, I discovered. The average person's pace is 140 steps per minute.) So we ran and I survived. My Garmin says I ran a pace of a little under 10 minutes per mile, which is, like, screaming fast for me. I kept up with the group is all I know, though I was huffing and puffing more than was appropriate for an "easy" run.

My reward for all that was a lovely lunch at Greens Restaurant at Fort Mason Center, about which I'll post separately.

So, I survived the workout. We survived the pouring rain that accompanied us all the way back to Chico, too -- three hours of nonstop driving rain. Ugh! We were glad to be home again, that's for sure. Poor Daniel drove all the way!

Which brings me to today...Week 2 of Team Vegan training. Today's run was an easy 3 mile run. (I can hardly believe that I can think of an easy 3-mile run, but there you go...bless the C25K program is all I can say.) I practiced my cadence and took tiny steps on the treadmill -- and discovered much to my surprise that many fast small steps are far easier than fewer long steps. They are easier on my stamina, that's for sure. I can't tell for sure whether it's easier on my joints. Right now my left knee is complaining a little bit, but not too bad.

I can't wait for my Thursday run!

Week 9 Day 2

So, today's lesson is...prepare mentally for your run during the day, be well hydrated, don't eat dinner beforehand...and you, too, can run for 36 minutes without feeling bad. As a matter of fact, you'll feel pretty darn good. The hardest part was getting on the treadmill in the first place. Once on it, well, I just kept going. It helped to be listening to an interesting episode of This American Life. I love that show.

On Saturday, I'm heading over to San Francisco to run with Team Vegan and Marathon Matt! Afterwards there will be a team brunch with Vegan Outreach at Greens Restaurant. Woohoo. I hope it doesn't rain, because if it's too rainy we might not go.