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Running!

Tonight I went to pole level 6 class, ran for 45 minutes, and then stretched/did conditioning for about 30-40 minutes. Then I spent a good 10 minutes rolling my body out with a tennis ball because I was so sore, and you know what? It worked. It got out all of my shin splits and calf pains. Woo hoo!

I've been wanting to fit in a run all week so that I don't lose my progress (it's been over a week since I last ran), but it's been raining almost all week and I frankly have been too tired from other activities. I'm trying to make a concentrated effort to not overdo it, and my calves have been killing me all week.

Anyway, I didn't post the progress from my last running experience, so I'll add that first. Both that time and this time I ran after a late night class around the neighborhood and down the path. Last time I averaged 8 minutes and maxed at 13 minutes, breaking the 1 mile mark. Both times I was averaging about a 12 minute mile, which has been consistent for the last complete of times I've gone out (though I never made it that far).

Usually, I can do about 4 running intervals before I crap out. Tonight, I only did 2, but they were both 16.5 minutes long and exactly 1.75 miles. I was shocked when I looked down at my iPod the first time and saw that. I usually use the length of the songs to determine how long I have been running, and by my calculations I had only run for about 13 minutes. Obviously, I had been wrong. I also must have been running faster because that's less than 9.5 minutes a mile. That's a huge amount of progress!

By the second interval I wasn't using the songs to keep track of my time, since it was apparently not an accurate measurement, which allowed me to just enjoy the songs while running. Hopefully, if I can keep up my endurance, I won't ever have to keep track of the songs and will just be able to enjoy them as background distraction.

Can we just stop a moment to reflect on the fact that I just ran a mile? A mile. That's insane.

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