Okay, it's official. I am hooked. If I could, I would probably run every day, at least every day with nice weather. Today was a special treat - J went out with me again. (He was going along with me as my partner and cheerleader, but hasn't been coming along for more than a week.) It was fun to have a running buddy again. He made me push a little harder, laugh a little more, and have just a little more fun. We even played a version of tag. (He is faster, so I was always the one trying to tag him. He would slow down and speed up to avoid being tagged.)
We passed by a couple small children on bicycles, one with training wheels. He teased me as the children started riding again, passing us by. "Are you gonna take that? You can beat them!" I think we were having more fun than the children, who seemed aghast at watching these two silly grown ups shrieking and running around.
At one point, I forgot my plodding "slightly bouncy walk" and started running in earnest to catch him. But, being week 5 run 1, I had to keep going for 5 minutes. I was surprised to find that by returning to my normal pace, I could recover my breath, without taking a break to walk. This is a great discovery, since I will surely need that ability for the 20 minute run in a few more days.
I love C25K. I am still a little scared about maybe struggling with the longer runs. But I am loving the time I am spending already. I have clocked over 45 km so far, since I began the program. That is more than a full marathon... spread over several weeks. I just know my body is going to love me for this!