Meet my running partner, Tony Soprano

I would like to preface this entry by saying that running outside has never been my forte. Whenever I used to get that burst of energy to run, it would be on a treadmill, and while the run would only be a mile or two, it was a good run and I usually had to stop because of a bathroom break or my TV show was over. So, this training is really new because I'm running outside. And let my tell you folks, running outside is NOT easy.

The last time I ran outside was a beautiful day in September. We had been having a string of bad weather, and one freak day of glorious warmth and sunshine fell into my lap - what else could I do but take advantage and go for a run? Bad life choice. I felt as though my lungs had been sat on by a mini Tony Soprano. I could mentally picture him sitting down with a sausage in one hand and a colt 45 in the other, sinisterly grinning and shoveling food into his mouth while he constricted my airway. Not cool, Tony, not cool.

Therefore, when the time came today for me to run, I was extremely realistic...aka I set the bar low. Really low. I knew it was going to be a short run in terms of distance, but I have to force myself to run. As I ran through the neighborhood, I prepared myself for Mr. Soprano to make his 2nd appearance and smother me to death (nearly). But he didn't show, and so I kept on trucking. As my speed began to slow, I kept going. If I had gone for a run without a goal in mind, I would've quit right then, with the philosophy "Why work harder than I need to?" holding me back from doing better than I expected. But today, the first day, pushed me onward. And I wasn't feeling bad. Dare I say...I was feeling...good? I LIKED running? BLASPHEMY!

As I rounded the corner to head back home, I felt my knees start to weaken. Uh oh, I thought, Tony's found a new location to have some chicken tetrazzini and a glass of brandy. Well Tony, BRING IT ON. I kept going until I started to trip after my own feet and walked for a minute to rejuvenate and catch my breath, and I ran a bit longer.

This may seem like I ran a long distance - not true. I ran about a mile, a mile and a half in total. But that's ok. I'm proud. And that's the reason I'm doing this.

*I would like to say that James Gandolfini, who played Tony Soprano, is a very talented and respected actor, and by no means do I mean to piss him off, in case he has a little bit of Tony Soprano in him.