Exploring the Neighborhood

Despite working out almost never for the first three weeks in June (oops), I manage to go for a walk or run/walk three out of the first four days I lived here.  I'm still having some foot pain and I'm not in the greatest shape right now, so I'm continuning the run/walk intervals.  I tell myself that Isis appreciates them too, since she is still getting in the running groove.  On Wednesday, I decided to try for 3 miles with a pattern of 3 minutes running, 2 minutes walking.  Garmin can very clearly illustrate the intervals for you:

In case you didn't know, Mississippi is HOT.  Moreso than hot, it is very, very humid.  So in 85+ degree weather with intense humidity, three miles is pretty far.  I didn't want to overheat Isis (or myself) so I decided to do two 1.5-ish mile loops with a water break at the house in between.

That "water break" after the first 1.89 miles turned into a 20 minute respite - Isis was panting, I was dripping, and I needed a mental break to convince myself that I could, in fact, finish 3 miles.

Our second loop turned out to be an out-and-back, since I was exploring my neighborhood and didn't want to head onto the nearby main road.  It turned out perfectly, because the out and back was 1.27 miles for a total of 3.16 miles in 44 minutes.  We aren't breaking any records down here, but that's the highest mileage I've logged in a while, so I'll take it.  I'll have to start using the 'lap' feature on my watch so I can see how fast my running intervals are, but I'm honestly not all that concerned with my pace right now.

My new running route!

After a bit of neighborhood exploration, I'm happy to say that my neighborhood seems well-suited for running: not too many hills, sidewalks when you get to bigger roads, and a decent amount of shade from tree coverage.  My plan for now is to try to run/walk 3 times per week and do strength training the other 3 times per week.  We will see how it all pans out once I get used to my new work schedule!