I set out for my first run on pavement in quite a while. Well, it’s been since August of last year, actually, when I hurt my Achilles’ tendon. Since then, I took a five month break from all running to allow the injury to heal, and then started running on a treadmill in our gym at home. Yesterday, the weather was perfect, and I wanted to go out for a real run, so I set out to run 3 miles regardless of time.

The run started out good; decent pace and not a lot of pain. My ankles still get sore when I run, but I think that’s age more than anything else. The first mile was easy enough, but the second mile was not. It wasn’t hard, but I did have to push myself. The third mile started out okay, but the last half was amazing. My legs felt great, my breathing was easy, and my pace dropped to 8:30/Mile. I almost wanted to keep running once I hit my goal of 3 miles, but I knew that I’d be pushing it and that I’d be courting an injury, so I forced myself to stop. I walked an additional half mile to cool down, and I honestly felt great afterward.

I’ll be doing my weightlifting today after work. This will be my first foray into weights since I hurt my shoulder back in November. Hopefully it goes well.

Weight wise, I’m back in the 180’s. That’s my pre-Las Vegas weight. It took two weeks to recover fully from that, but I’m there now and making more progress.

Do the work, put in the time, and success will come. It doesn’t matter if it’s weightlifting, running, or anything else. Perseverance is key. You have to set a goal for yourself and stick to it. Nothing more; nothing less.