Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Running is hard...

Running is hard. It completely exhausts me and I am baffled by this - I can hike or walk in the woods for hours and feel great (tired, but still good), I run for about a quarter+ of a mile and I feel shot!

Now, this morning, I didn't eat anything, just drank a lot of water and I know that had something to do with it. My new typical is that I wake up and after doing all the obligatory first thing in the morning things (dog out,  bathroom, feed and water dog), I drink a large glass of water. While I'm drinking my second glass of water, I pull together something small to eat (a small muffin, piece of sweet bread, etc.) so something is in my stomach to help fuel my workout but not so much that it hinders it. I wait about an hour (get dressed, wash my face, brush my teeth, make my bed, etc.) and then I hit the track (or begin my in-home workout if it's an off day from running).

Today, I felt so heavy. I waited about an extra half hour this morning for the heart of the storm to blow through (I saw natural items floating past our second story windows like in The Wizard of Oz) and the weather app on my phone said to be aware of 1.5 hale. When it was just drizzling, I decided to hit the trail! I got there and, of course, there was no one on the field (better than yesterday when I went later and the football team was practicing) so I set my workout app (which measures how fast and far I run, etc.), took a deep breath and jumped out of the car. I stretched and then walked onto the track.

The first go, I thought I'd try to push myself and, instead of running the quarter of the track that I'm supposed to be running, I thought I'd run half the track - HA! That was a POOR idea. Seriously, the humidity hugged me and I felt my torso just tighten up. My legs felt ok (still have a little sigh of the shin splints but a lot better than last time). I walked and reminded myself that it's ok to start slow. I got around and ready for the second lap and I kept dragging my feet and running funny. I had swapped out shoe inserts to see if my usual ones would do the same thing that Bill's had done for me. My feet were killing me - these shoes, the only gym shoes I own, are not great for what I'm trying to do and Bill's inserts worked better than mine.

I completed the second and third laps (even sang a little out loud, after the third lap to see how I was breathing and since there was no one on the track, I could...), got some water and stretched my back a little. I wasn't sure I should do the last lap but for some reason, I decided to push myself a little more, it was important to me that I complete the mile. After my quarter of the lap run, I was walking and saw some of the school's grounds staff hanging out under the bleaches. Um...I was done singing out loud. So I mouthed the song to myself as I completed the lap; I felt good, I had accomplished something that I wasn't confident I could do today.

I'm hoping that Thursday morning, I'll be able to run more that I was able to do today. If not, I guess I'll just have to turn this first week (which is already 9 days long) into a two-weeker so I can get into shape. I suppose, if I keep up with this, someday I'll look back on this and smile at the determination and respect for myself that I'm beginning to see (however small).

There's always tomorrow...

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