After the first mile

So I did go to the gym yesterday.  Was only going to walk/run for half an hour.  Started out slow because you want to warm up your muscles and not by doing jumping jacks or anything like that.  So I walked two laps then I ran two laps, then I walked two laps, and then I ran two laps.  That was a half mile.  I repeated this pattern for another half mile and then contemplated stopping.  But with the pending 3.1 mile race coming up and the fact that it was only 14 minutes out of the half hour I wanted to be there, I continued.  It's amazing how motivated you can get when you envision the headlines as you qualify for the Boston Marathon in 2010, 4 days before you turn 40.  That little fantasy kept me going for another mile, strictly walking but at not a bad pace.  Once you get the first mile done and hit the second mile, the third one doesn't seem quite so bad.  I even ran that last lap (well, hobbled is more like it) but I did it.  So 3 miles done in 47 minutes with a pace of 15:38 minutes per mile.  I just need to work on that a little bit between now and the 27th.  Oh that and being able to move the next day.  My legs are just a little sore, but I don't think it's from the running.  All the pain is on the back of my thighs which makes me think, it's from the weeding on Saturday.  Oh well, I'll try to run again tomorrow night.  I just need to bring it down to 14:30 minutes/mile to feel comfortable about the race in 12 days.