Starting out

I ran yesterday and it felt great. I was supposed to run Saturday, but pushed it off until Sunday. On weekends, it's nice to plan just one workout so you can push it off as plans change. It was about 55 degrees and breezy, so it was perfect running weather. I want to run outside on my long run because it gets my body used to road running, which is different than treadmill running. For one thing the surface is harder, and another is your speed changes constantly whereas on a treadmill it is constant. Someone told me your time is faster on a treadmill, but I have never verified that with facts.
My increase my run until I can run 3 miles in 30 minutes. My husband bought my Nike +ipod for Christmas last year but I never could calibrate it. I thought I had successful done so earlier last week, but after running 30 minutes, it said I ran 1 mile. Now I know I am not the quickest, but I am running faster than that. I may not know how far I ran exactly, but running 30 minutes without stopping is a big success. Another big success is that I have talked my husband into running. He has never been a runner and hates running. He says he's never run more than 2 miles in his life. I hope he'll run the mini with me in May, but I am coaching him to start small. Try to run 3 miles, then 5. He is on my training plan that I used when I first started running two and a half years ago. It's very untechnical. It's based on Body for Life. Start with a goal of 20 minutes. Walk a minute and then increase speed every minute for three minutes. (a min at 11, a min at 10, a minute at 9:30) then cut back to walk a minute and repeat the cycle. As you get stronger, you can run 4 min or trade the walk for a slow jog. Play around with it and change it as you get stronger and you'll be running without stopping in no time. I like running this way because the goal is 1 minute, not 20. Or at least my mind is tricked into that. A warning: once you are running longer distances, changing speed like this may be too taxing. I tried doing it when I was in shape and went too far too fast and hurt my knee. This week I will find a specific training plan to follow, and I have checked out cookbooks to begin my eat right for energy diet. It feels great to think about running again.