Slow and steady

My boyfriend and I went out for a run together yesterday. I love being able to say that! I think I might have mentioned in a previous post that he just started running. I convinced him to do a 5k for a cause I knew he'd support but figured he'd probably walk it. Instead he surprised me and got really into it by researching shoes, buying tech clothing, and looking up training plans.

He's still building up his pace and mileage and I needed to take it easy to test how well my foot would hold up so it worked out well to run together. We decided on three miles of laps around the high school track. It was a very slow pace for me, but having someone to talk to made it fun. I'm probably forgetting about something, but I want to say that the last time I ran with someone was January 2010.

I was so happy to be running that even when my boyfriend stopped for walk breaks, I kept jogging along next to him rather than walking. Overall my foot held up really well. There was none of the sharp pain that I felt during my last run a couple Tuesdays ago. In the back of my mind I was worried that I'd make a misstep and come down wrong on my foot and make it even worse, but I seem to have come through unscathed.

For the last couple laps he decided to walk so I finally took off on my own for a bit. I don't think I was going that fast, maybe a 9-9:30 pace, but it felt like I was flying. Being sidelined really makes me appreciate the times when I can run. And the gorgeous sunny day helped lift my mood too. I wish I could bottle that feeling and save it until next winter.

Tonight was yoga class. I've made it to yoga consistently now for the last four Mondays and hope to keep it as a regular part of my schedule. The class at my current gym is pretty basic, at least compared to other classes I've taken, but it's better than nothing.

If we can coordinate our schedules, I might try another couple miles with my boyfriend before hitting the gym for more cross training. I have another physical therapy visit tomorrow, but I'm pretty sure I already know that my physical therapist will tell me to continue taking it easy and build up the miles slowly.

In other news, I've been consuming a lot of new media lately. First I was watching the new ABC show Scandal online and then I discovered another ABC show called Revenge that I like even better. I got hooked and with no long run to worry about, I spent the weekend making my way through all 16 episodes of Revenge so far and I can't wait until the series starts back up in a couple weeks. I also found a new podcast called Go Fork Yourself, hosted by Andrew Zimmern of Bizarre Foods and another co-host. Sometimes it's a little annoying to listen to them talking about restaurants that I've never heard of and will likely never visit, but overall I enjoy their banter. What I look for in a podcast is that it feels more like a conversation among friends than a scripted, overly produced show. It's a nice addition to my playlist that's mostly dominated by Disney and running podcasts. 

I mentioned a few weeks ago that I finally read the first book in the Hunger Games series. I read the second book, Catching Fire, last week in one 3 1/2 hour sitting. It wasn't quite as good as the first but I still enjoyed it even if the cliffhanger ending did leave me angry the rest of the night because I wanted to know what happens next. I was so tempted to go out and buy the third book but I'm waiting for a library copy instead. Depending on when I get it, it might be good reading material for my trip to Orlando in less than a month!