This is my kind of track. :)February 2nd - Day 2: Better. Not SO bad. Still not a fan of running.
February 4th- Day 4: Up with the sun and got the run out of the way first thing. This really helps with my motivation for the rest of the day too! Also...I spotted some SUPER cute running shoes at Freddy's today...and I thought: If I finish this challenge and carry it over into the month of March where I could step it up another mile each day...I could really justify new running kicks!
Inspiration...February 5th - Day 5: Well there is something to be said for getting out and doing this consistently and slowly watching your time get faster and faster. I am definitely a good 2 minutes slower when I take the girls running with me because I also have to manuver them around obstacles in the stroller. However, I notice I am running this mile with a lot more ease than days 1 and 2 and I don't feel like throwing up like I did the first day. I have found songs that help me keep a good consistent pace and I feel good when I'm done. I notice I have less recovery time at the end of the run. Also, today I experienced something while running that was kind of crazy. I got to the last stretch and my body wanted to sprint the last stretch to home. So I experienced the "kick" in those last moments as you get to your ending point. It was crazy to feel my body step it up beyond what I thought I could give in that moment.
February 6 - Day 6: Well. I went this morning with the girls and discovered as I started running that I had managed to pull my groin! Are you kidding me!? Let me just tell you that HURTS! haha Annnd I feel like a total nerd! But I decided to run anyway and push through it and by the end of the run it had subsided. Also, believe it or not I ran a minute faster on this run with the pulled muscles than I have yet! So there's that...granted I had trouble walking the rest of the day...but ONWARD! :)
Days 7-11: Still trucking, although I've managed to get a nasty headcold and currently am unable to breathe thru my nose...which is awesome when you are out running and huffing and puffing. Day 8 I took off and ran around the track...yaaa, that will most likely be the last time I ever use the track to run any sort of mileage on purpose. I was so bored I passed the time by thinking of how I would describe some of the most important people in my life with one word and why I would use that word to describe them...ya I was THAT bored. I actually got so involved in that little task I ended up running a mile more than planned. haha Oh well. I notice I am completing the mile with a lot more ease both in body and lung. When out running last night it was pouring down rain while the sun was going down and the sky was all pink and hazy and a rainbow was right along side me...pretty awesome. Even if I hate running I love the nature part of it. :)
My runnin budsFebruary 11th - Day 11: Today I did not want to go. I feel like poop. Today was the first day of this challenge my mind did that little evil trick it tries to play when one side works hard to talk you out of something. I wanted to give in so badly. I just wanted to sit on on the couch and snooze or eat sometghing bad...but I decided, No...I really need to do this. I'll be SO mad at myself if I don't. And so I loaded up the girls and we went. And Lord musta known I needed me some encouragement today because halfway in an older man just finishing his run (and looking extremely fit) called out to me, "You are doing well! Keep it up!" Made me smile...then a little further along a mail lady stopped to let us pass thru the intersection and rolled down her window and called, "You guys are so cute! Keep it up!!" Ok...ok ok ok! I get it. And I will. I'll keep it up. Even though everything in me didn't want to lace up those shoes and hit the pavement today...I did it. And truth be told I feel good about at least that. :)
February 13 - Day 13: I needed to get out yesterday. I didn't feel good and I was incredibly grumpy but I needed to get out the door. I got out and did most of my loop then headed to the grocery store via running to pick up some last minute things for dinner. While checking out, the clerk asked if I had just come from working out and I told him I was running and how far etc...and I was immediately given a verbal high-five. "Good for you!" he says! "It's so hard to get out that door isn't it!? But it's so good for your mind and body once you do make it out there! Well keep it up! Good for you." Well ok then, maybe I just will! I am noticing this comraderie with people since this running challenge began that I have not had before. I am always out with the girls walking or biking, but this running thing has kick started a whole new level of community for me. How interesting. :)
Would LOVE a pair of these! February 14 - Day 14: It's Valentine's Day and I got to celebrate it in part by getting out and running my mile and doing something good for my heart..as well as for my mind, body and soul. Happy Day of Love to me!
February 16 - Days 15 & 16: Today and the day before (Day 15) I beat my personal best time!! I texted my sis to ask what a good normal person's per mile run time would be and found to my surprise I wasn't as far off as I thought. Well perhaps I should have asked her sooner! Day 15 I ran better than I have yet by about 25 sec. And today I beat THAT time by another 20! What!? I have managed to shave 40 seconds off my time...guess that's what happens when you push yourself...and when you're not towing kiddos in a stroller. Whooo-ee that is some extra work...and time! Also we are at the half way mark! The month is half over! In 16 days I have seen great improvements and am proud of myself! What's to come in the next 13 days!
February 24th -Day 24: Well...do I dare say it? Am I enjoying myself?! I had half hoped part of my thighs would melt off in this new endeavor...but alas they seem the same. But beyond that I have left music and stop watch behind for the last week or so and have just gone running...and while in the beginning I'd go and do my normal "I know this is about a mile route" to where I am now stepping it up and adding another mile or two to the run and taking different routes. Am I running on purpose now and not just for the mere sake of completing a challenge!?
February 28th Day 28: Well. This is it! Tomorrow is the last day of the challenge. Day 29. I thought about waiting til tomorrow to write this final part, but I already know I will do it. Because for 28 days I have laced up my running shoes and headed out the door, rain or shine, snow or sleet, in sickness and health, for better or worse. I have made it happen. I took the challenge 28 days ago and tomorrow I WILL finish it. And it feels good. I feel stronger and in better shape than I did at the start of this. I am able to complete a mile...and another...and a third if I so choose. This makes me feel strong. I took the month of February and tackled it with a challenge that before I would have ignored. After all I'd tried running before...and asthma, or painful shins stopped me. But I noticed something...even though I'm several years older than the last time I really tried running, and I've had a couple kids...I'm stronger! I'm better! There was none of those things present. I just did it. And the first few days when that part of my mind tried desperately to get me to quit, and told me it would be ok if I did. The larger part said: "No. We ARE doing this." And I did. And it feels good. And now it feels so simple. I now get back from running and it takes me hardly any time at all to recover. I feel good. And honestly...I am proud of myself! And that's ok. Actually that's more than ok! That's great! Cause we need to be proud of ourselves! We need to take a challenge head on and win it and feel great about what we accomplished! So a big thank you to the friend who put this challenge out there (Aubrey), and to the MANY who accepted it...I hope you all manage to finish and have the feeling of being stronger and better and pride in yourselves.
As for whether or not I love running....I suppose do in some ways. I love it for what it makes me feel when I finally get out there, and for how I feel later for just going out and getting it done. I love that I am ABLE to run...because so many aren't able for various reasons. But I have the ability.
And I think it dawned on me that just because I have to mentally shove myself out the door some days doesn't mean I don't enjoy it. Even my sister Rebecca who's passion is running, looks at the grey sky and clouds and sighs at the thought of going on her run for the day at times or wants to sometimes let tiredness win out. But, she doesn't. And once she gets out she feels better...so maybe, just maybe I'm a runner after all.
