I'm sorry, could you just pick that up for me, please?

I may have tried to progress too far. I took a new path Monday night, and as you may remember, it's been quite a while since I've run on anything but the elliptical. This new route was a bit more scenic, a little more residential. There seemed to be zillions of runners out with me, giving me the nod, "way to be, welcome to the club." I was humming along, thinking about how fascinating it is to be part of this crazy cult, these people who get a high from doing this. And then I pretty much had a coronary.

WHAT THE?!? "Excuse me, sir? Yes, that on the ground over there--it's my heart. It seems to have burst forth from my chest. Do you mind? Thanks. Lemme just put that back..."

The culprit? This:

Good grief, it felt like that anyway. You have GOT to be kidding me with this hill business. I am not so naive that I don't understand running on an incline takes more effort, more aerobic work. However, I was pretty blind to the fact that even a slight grade would make me stroke out. My heart was beating so hard that I was certain you could see it thumping cartoonishly, even if I was wearing a parka.

It occurs to me that the path between the stadium and campus has its share of hills. I cannot help but hope that my running class, which starts Thursday, addresses this issue. Stretching suddenly seems to be a problem, too. My quads are pretty sore from the additional stress, and I really have to do a better job at warming them up. I'd try to fit yoga in my schedule if I thought I had an ounce of time to do it.

So, for the first day back, the unimpressive tally:
14 minutes walking (10 warm-up, 4 cool down)
24 minutes running--the hills, people. I couldn't make it to 26...

Tonight and Tomorrow are pretty much out, but I'm terribly excited for class on Thursday. Wish me luck, and warm muscles!