Spring is here, and I'm running again!

Here in Boston it was 50 degrees on Saturday, which is a vast improvement over last week's sub-arctic temperatures. I decided to celebrate the warmer weather by getting out my ugly green adidas track pants and going for a run along the Charles. Of course, it's been about 6 months since I last ran, so after 7 minutes I was gasping for air and limping.

Note that the box marked 'A' is the exact location where I ran out of breath. The dark blue represents true running, the green represents the limp/jog that I endured for the remainder of the loop.

Still, this is the perfect time to start getting back into shape. It's cold enough that most people are still cooped up in health clubs, instead of showing off on the esplanade. I also purchased a knee brace, as everyone in the Webster clan has a bum right knee. Then I updated my iPod for some serious running music.

Today I went for run #2, and I'm pleased to announce that I made it all the way around the upper-portion of the Charles River, running at a decent pace. My map:

I'm not sure exactly how far this is, but it took me about 20 minutes. I then walked for about 15 minutes to cool down.

Last spring I was able to work my way up to the following loop, which took about an hour and really felt like an accomplishment:

So, my goal is to be able to run that loop again by June. Now I promised myself that I wouldn't make any 'athletic resolutions' this year, as I can never force myself to stick with them. Unfortunately, the whole 'dating' resolution is just not looking good at this point, so I'm swapping resolutions. I'm allowing this switch b/c I've been studying at the BU library every other day and I've been cleaning my apartment on a regular schedule. It's only a matter of time before some innocent single steps right in my path, so why sweat things by seeking dates out?