Training Season Begins With a Flop

Yesterday marked the momentous occasion of my first day of my marathon training.  I was so excited to get started again on my third journey to run the Flying Pig. 

Day One was a total fail.

I woke up at 7:15 a.m. to the sound of something which I had forgotten how much I hated--the buzzing of an alarm clock. After 10 days of blissful freedom, the thought of getting back to the grind and doing actual work threw me into the most ugly, funky, horrid kind of post-Holiday depression ever known.  I wanted to drive my Mazda off a cliff, but instead I drove it to my office park.  Once I arrived, I decided the cliff might have been the better option.

After reluctantly accepting adjusting to being back at work, I also had to adjust to my new diet regimen, which, unlike my holiday diet regimen, does not include limitless amounts of candy, cookies and pie.  I know that my new diet will make me feel better and give me more energy through my workouts, but that doesn't do anything right now to curb the chocolate chip cravings. It just makes me grumpy.

Trying to turn my bad day into a good evening, I hopped on the treadmill at 4:30, ready for a fabulous run.  I had been running for about 47 seconds, when the phone rang.  I didn't answer it, but it was bothering me.  Who was it?  Was it an emergency?  Could I have won the lottery but needed to call back within the next five minutes to claim my prize? 

I had to stop worrying about the mystery phone call and focus on getting these 4 miles done.  At about 2 and a half minutes in, my Garmin stopped working.  I just got new screws for the back of the watch, and just replaced the batteries, so this made no sense at all.  Then, as if my electronic devices were speaking to one another, my Garmin suggested to my iPod, "Wouldn't it be funny if we both broke at the same time?"  To which my iPod responded, "Ha ha, okay, let's do it!"  And when that happened, I just quit.  After 1.83 miles, I was too distracted and pissed off at my running accessories to go one step further.

I ended up going to the gym and taking out my frustrations on my muscles.  I left my Group Power class an hour later shaky and sore, and spent the next half hour on the treadmill trying to recalibrate my Garmin (which spontaneously decided to wake up from its power nap).  While I am hopeful that the Garmin may have made a full recovery, I think the iPod is officially dead.

Today is Training Day Two.  I'm teaching Zumba tonight, then after a quick trip to get a new iPod, I'm going to attempt this 4-mile treadmill run again.

I'll turn my phone off. No distractions, just running. The way it ought to be.