Whooooooosh!

That's the only sound I heard for a good half-hour of my run today. (Also the sound my deadlines are making as they approach terminal velocity...Thursday, Thursday, eek...)

Anyway, today I decided to go long, and I'm really happy that I did. It's easier to do if I start out the run knowing I will--my mental preparedness doesn't really reach far enough to extend my runs on a whim at this point. Maybe in the future, after I've built up much more fitness. But I guess all that coughing gave my cardiovascular system a workout, because I was able to go at what felt like a decent pace much more comfortably. Until the wind hit me. I could barely hear my music at all, just tons of cold air coming off the Charles. At one point, as I was staggering sideways, I just yelled "oh my god!" which got me a smile from a passing biker. The paths felt a lot more empty than usual, but those who were out there all knew what I was facing.

I also made a point of keeping my heart rate below 180. In high school we'd run for 20 minutes every other or every third PE class, wore heart monitors, and had to keep our rates between 150 and 180. So today I let myself walk if I was getting too high, which was quite a bit when I was against the wind, to make sure I wouldn't tire myself out on my first longer run. Because of all the wind resistance and walking, the whole thing ended up taking me about 55 minutes. Much better than doing schoolwork for that extra half hour. And I got to try out my new sunglasses that I got especially for sports! All in all, a really good day (aside from the looming pile of work) and I'm excited to go out again...might have to wait until Thursday, though, when the whole mess is done.