The First Mile

    "The first mile is the toughest." You've heard it before, and very likely dismissed it as ridiculous. But it is truth, for me at least. I have noticed this in almost every run, whether training or racing. I am beginning to be disinclined to run 5Ks because it seems as if it takes 4K for me to hit my stride, and feel like I am moving and breathing easy. Seems odd, I know. I haven't had a lot of experience in straight up running races; two 5Ks, a 10K, and a 6 mile trail run. The 6+ mile obstacle run doesn't really count, although the first half mile or so was straight-up running, keyword "up" as this was a very steep course. Everything else has been triathlon, which puts the run into a different category. In both of the 5Ks I felt fatigued for easily the first half of the run, granted, I did not rest and eat quite as well beforehand as I should have. The 10K started oddly for me, as I was running late, and had a fun time sprinting from parking lot to starting line, and across the highway to catch up to the pack. I felt good throughout that race, hitting a bit of a fatigue point at about the 3K point, but then ran through it easily. The trail run was a bit different as well, since the bulk of the race was either hard uphill, or hard downhill. There was not a single level piece of trail on the whole route.
    I have not been able to run outdoors as much as I would like, life seems to get in the way. But I have had several good runs in the last few weeks. Last night I had an easy run in the wilds of Lake Oswego smiling at grim faced cyclists, and dodging bullish Mercedes that do not like giving way to puny runners. I ran decently easy through the entire run, although I did slow to walk a few paces several times. I am trying to be cognizant of my stride and pace, posture, and arm movement. I am feeling more natural as I run. Even so, it wasn't until I had been running for 25 minutes or so that I felt relaxed, muscles warm and breathing easy. I am working towards having the first mile be as easy as the ensuing miles, but not really sure exactly what I can do to make this happen. So I will keep running, eventually I will figure it out.