let the madness begin

Today was the first official day of training! After a quick trip to a local sports store to buy my first ever [and surprisingly expensive] outdoor running outfit, I put on my brand new outdoor jacket... and headed to the indoor gym. (I wanted to knock out two miles at slightly faster than my normal pace, and I needed the treadmill to keep track of that.)

And I admit... I have yet to learn how to set a reasonable pace for myself running outdoors. I start out sprinting without realizing I'm doing it and then am winded after a block. More on that later.

For now: two miles down! And according to the count of a fellow runner on my team--only 574.2 to go!

* * *
By the way, every time I break a new "distance record" in my official training, I'll be posting a mile marker like the one at left showing how many consecutive miles I ran. It's those stupid little rewards that will get me through this thing! =)