Feet fail me not… Today marked my first day of official training.

I still haven’t decided if I’ll run the half marathon (13.1 miles) or the 10K (6 or so miles) but to be honest, right now that doesn’t matter. I just need to get started.

Any Guy Nicknamed the Penguin Is Alright By Me
Over the weekend I immersed myself in all things running. When I initially got this wild hair to begin running I hopped online to find someone I could relate to who could help me take the first step to get off the couch and run. I found John “The Penguin” Bingham.

John writes a column for Runner’s World entitled No Need For Speed. Ahhh… just what I was looking for. When John decided to begin running he was in his 40s, 80 pounds overweight, drank more than he should, and smoked. Bingo!!! I’m in my 20s, not quite 80 pounds overweight, I don’t drink, and I don’t smoke. Suddenly my laziness and my XBox360 seemed like puny obstacles. “The Penguin” philosophy of running is to just get out there and do it. Run, walk, or waddle: It doesn’t matter as long as you keep moving forward. Boom! I’m all over it.

I headed to the local bookstore for some motivational/training materials and settled on Bingham’s No Need for Speed: A Beginner’s Guide to the Joy of Running. After reading the tips on starting right I realized that I needed a good pair of running shoes. I was off to the shoe store.

Digital Trainer
In one of my recent posts I revealed that I was mesmerized by the new partnership between Nike and Apple. Their new product, Nike+iPod, is aimed directly at the athletic world. A tiny sensor is placed in the left shoe and wirelessly communicates with a small receiver attached to your iPod nano. The sensor tracks your time, mileage, and calories and a coaching voice alerts you to the different waypoints in your workout. Pure genius and I bought in hook, line, and sinker. For a complete guide to the Nike+iPod system check out this review at iLounge.com.

Since I was purchasing new shoes anyway I decided on a pair of Nike+ Shox Turbo. They were not anymore expensive than the other shoes I tried and they felt great. I then purchased a Nike+iPod kit for $30 at my local Apple store along with an armband for my nano.

With my running schedule in hand and my digital coach in my ear I took off for my inaugural “wog” (walk/jog) Sunday afternoon. When I walked a half mile, the sensor said that I had indeed traveled a half mile. The female voice was pleasant and encouraging as she relayed to me how fast I was traveling and how much time had elapsed in my workout. Since it is July in Texas it was slightly warmer than the surface of the sun so I decided to call it quits after a mile and a half. I returned home to synch my workout to nikeplus.com homepage.

Everything worked together seamlessly and really motivated me to set a few goals and gear up for my biggest challenge yet.

Getting Off The Couch
As the Texas sun was setting this evening I took my place at the starting line of the track. There were a billion reasons for me not to workout today with 999,999,999 of them being degrees heat but I got out there anyway. I set my workout for a 30 minute wog and set off down the track. I chose a great playlist and I stashed a bottle of Gatorade where I could easily grab it as I went by. After five minutes my coach, I’ve named her Brianne, alerted me that I had passed the five minute mark and that I had 25 minutes to go. At 15 minutes, Brianne told me that I had reached the halfway point. When I had five minutes left on my workout I was alerted every minute until I had reached my completed time of 30 minutes. It had started to cool down so I continued for another 10 minutes and finished my workout with a slight jog across the finish line. When I ended my workout Brianne had a surprise for me. Lance Armstong himself congratulated me for completing my longest workout yet.

So, I got up off the couch, worked up a good sweat, felt good about what I had accomplished and was even congratulated by a real athelete. Yep, I was feeling pretty good indeed.

The Road Ahead
Well I’ve completed about 4.5 miles in my quest to become a runner. Day 1 is in the bag. Tomorrow, it’s day 2.