Running all the way from slug to smug

I got up this a.m. and did something different. After I did my usual low-impact cardio workout with my "personal trainer" Raina, I went outside and jogged in the daytime.

It was a beautiful, below-freezing morning outside: crisp, clear, and windless. The leaves were showing off all their pretty colors, and the sun was shining in a cloudless blue sky. And I loathed it.

I am not a cheerful runner, I've discovered. My inner slug is constantly saying things like, I don' wanna do this. Wah. This is BOR-ing. My goal is to tune out the slug while learning to listen to my knees and tendons.

I jog/walked for 36 minutes, alternating 1 and 2 minute intervals. At first I had the whole park to myself, which was good. When you're huffing, puffing, and red-faced, it's nice not to have an audience. But I think I'll have to break down and get an iPod or something like that. Marie's suggestion of a podcast geared toward newbies sounds like something that will cost still more money it might do the trick. Might help to drown out the inner slug.

After about 30 minutes, the sun had warmed things up enough so that other people started to come out and enjoy the day. I looked at them with the smug tolerance of a woman who'd begun her workout when it was still freezing. Apparently braving the cold brings with it a feeling of superiority.

I feel good now that I've stopped jogging. I do think I deserve a gold star for getting out there in the cold and doing the work.

Fall photo courtesy of flickr.