The first week of the running program hasn't gone bad at all. I did miss Wednesday, but I made up for it on Thursday and just shifted Friday's run to Saturday. Still three times a week, still feeling pretty good about it.

Nike+ has made it convenient to show off my progress: just click here to see a handy graph of my runs.

Runners may not find these numbers all that impressive, but I say they're not half bad for a guy weighing well over two bills and who likes running about as much as salmon like long walks in the park.

The plan this week calls for eight one-minute runs spread across 20 minutes, each separated by a minute and a half of walking. The first few of those runs didn't seem so bad, but during the last few I found myself watching the timer on the iPod a lot closer. Fortunately the PowerSong (Pantera's "Cowboys from Hell" in my case) concept really does work, and I'm able to pick up the pace a bit for the last run rather than letting it spiral down out of control because I'm feeling wiped out.

The other good news is I felt better about the third night's overall run than I did the first. It's probably mental, but I felt a little more able to keep up with each of the runs than I did the first time. Is it legit or am I just getting used to being out there on the track. It's hard to say, but I guess I'll find out next week when I bump things up to 90-second runs separated by two minutes of walking.

Another 30 seconds never killed anyone, right?