Day 1 - Running Again

This is for Meg and Calvin (and future kids). I Love You and want to be around for you as long as I can.
I used to be a cross-country runner. My Dad was my cross-country and track coach in high school. At first, I felt forced into running. But, it wasn't all that bad, I had already played soccer for 6 years. Running was just part of the routine. Dad was (he's retired now...hence was) a great coach, the way a coach should be. He cared for his kids, encouraged them, and didn't make it a "running is life/compete or die" environment. Fortunately, near the end of his career (before he was pushed out by a money-hungry superintendant...sorry, I had to get that in), he coached two runners to a Team State Championship. Yes, a State Championship with TWO runners. On top of all of that, he held us accountable and helped to make his kids better people for it.
That was my Dad as a coach. As a parent, nothing changed, and my Mom was right up there with him...love and accountability all around. Thank You Dad & Mom, I Love You.
And oh yeah, I grew to love running. I would run for relaxation. One day, I even ran 23 miles. Close...so close.
Anyways, my accountability went a bit lax. Now, here I am. I'm ready to be held accountable again.
So do it. I will. But I want YOU to help me.
I will run a marathon. And my training started today.

Here's the skinny:
I'll work from 5K training, to 10K training, to Half-Marathon training, to...you guessed it...Marathon Training. Hopefully, in a year and a half or so, I'll have one of those 26.2 stickers on my car.
I'm still trying to find an agreeable plan. But right now, I'll alternate days of running and rest/walking and top the week off with a nice long walk with Meg and Calvin. I'm not going for PR (Personal Record) stuff yet, just finishing. That's a long way away. My best 5K, in my prime, was 18 minutes flat.

Today was a pleasant surprise. I ran 2 miles. I timed them just to keep track, but again, no PRs. The first mile took (what I thought was) 9mins 30secs. But when I finished, I was at 17mins 4secs. So, that means my second mile took 7.5mins. I find that hard to believe. Two minutes off my second mile? Either way, 2 miles took 17 minutes.
More to come tomorrow...my rest day...