On running. Summary: it blows.

God damn it, running sucks.

Don’t get me wrong; it’s great to exercise, but running blows. However, I learned a great lesson last night during my weekly 5K.

I’ve been doing 5Ks off and on since last summer, and over the winter I started really improving at them. I ran a 43:30 in December of last year, before I started slacking off to start 2012 (it was like a New Year’s Resolution, except the exact opposite). So I’ve been working my way back into it since late spring and although I’ve slowed some, I’ve been steadily improving, from the 51-53 minute range to 45:56 last week.

Now, I am not a runner. Going through my entire life I’m pretty sure I’ve never run over a mile. But I was feeling high on the hog (what the fuck does that even mean? Am I using it right? Doubtful), and this week I planned to incorporate a plan that I’ve been considering for a few weeks now. My plan was to alternate walking and running, using tenths of a mile as my intervals. My goal was to break 45 minutes, and I was pretty confident.

So I start and I am right on pace. Yes, the pace is 14 minutes per mile, but for me, I’m thrilled because fuck you that’s why; also, I’m right on pace to match my PR (personal record, for you lazy non-brisk-walk-slow-joggers), and I’m feeling good. I hit mile 2 in 28:17 and I’m just a little bit off PR pace, but well in line to break 45 minutes. Then I hit THE WALL. Fact: The Wall is a bastard. There would be no more running in this 5K. I gave it a valiant effort, but I just couldn’t move any faster. I wouldn’t say I broke down like that Swiss girl in the Ironman that soiled herself at the finish, but it was a struggle.

I finished in 47:07. Not good. Moreover, I was frustrated, because I knew why it had been so hard. It’s said that man cannot live on bread alone. Man also can’t run 5Ks on two fish tacos. I need to eat more. I need to drink more water. I need to snack.

The good news is that the Hometown Buffet was fantastic after the run (I eat there because I’m fancy). I ate a monstrous salad, and I am quite sure that I looked awful shoveling it in my mouth. Luckily, as I was eating at the Hometown Buffet, I looked like a classy gentleman by comparison.

So lesson learned, exercise still done, and it’s on to the next day.

Food check!

Breakfast: toast (2), eggs (2), Tapatio (fuckload)

Lunch: leftover fish tacos (2)

Dinner: Big salad (greens, cucumber, tomatoes, mushrooms, hard-boiled eggs, peas, jalapenos, grilled chicken, a little blue cheese dressing)

1 BBQ riblet, one baked chicken breast, ½ cup mashed potatoes, zucchini and chicken stir-fry

1 piece fudge, ¼ cup NSA frozen yogurt