Workout 1

Three days ago, I ran from my apartment to a local park and back. That was just under 3 miles total (1.4 or so there and back).

Time to park: 16:22 (that's minutes and seconds, not hours ;)
Time returning: 27:22 (includes stretching time, I forgot to stop counting there).

Two days ago, I was so sore it hurt to walk. Next time, I will warm up slower and remember to stretch at the end of the workout, not in the middle. A little knowledge is a dangerous thing: I'd read that one should stretch warm muscles, but when I tried, I found they were all wound up and twitchy and didn't want to stretch. Ow. Next time, cool down more first.

One day ago (yesterday), I was still somewhat sore and going down stairs was still painful. I decided: better not overdo it at the beginning. So I took another day off. I did walk half a mile to the store and carry 35 lbs of groceries home with me, but this is a usual activity since I don't own a car. I'd count it as crosstraining or "active recovery," not exercise.

I just realized I forgot to put my starting stats in the previous post, so here they are: I stand 5'5 1/2" (that's 65.5 inches) tall and currently weigh 140 lbs. I have not yet timed myself running a mile, but the last time I ran a timed mile, back in May, it was 11 minutes. I'd be surprised if my long-distance mile is better than 10:30 now, but it will improve. If I have the math right, to meet my marathon goal of less than 4 hours, I need to average 9-minute miles ... for all 26 of them.