Week 8, Day 1 Plus Two Minutes (Win)

Wow! I haven't blogged about my runs in over a week!  I mostly have been running at the gym instead of outside, but I've been doing well--except for the group run on Saturday the 13th.

I've been full of excuses lately.  That's part of the reason why I haven't been out running as much as I should be.  I have hit the "mid-summer slump," which makes it really hard to get anything done.  I was on such a good routine at the beginning of summer break and when I was teaching summer school, but now it has been a few weeks, with a couple more to go and it is really hard to get up before sunrise to run when I don't have any other reason to wake up so early.  "Tomorrow" hasn't really been my excuse, it really has become "later."  I go to the gym early to run before I do my regular workout. But it is really draining to do both.  I'll have to get myself into a good routine soon, since I return to work in a few weeks and will have to go back to working in my classroom even sooner!

Yesterday was a late afternoon run at the gym before my regular workout (and today will be the same because I really wanted to sleep in).  I was just starting Week 8 on C25K and it was a 28 minute run.  I was starting to get tired and I knew I was getting close to the end, but I didn't know how close I was.  The song "Little Talks" by Of Monsters and Men came on and I told myself that I would run until the end of the song and that would be it.  About half way through the song the C25K voice told me it was time to begin my cool down. Yesssss! But wait, I told myself I would go to the end of the song. Only two more minutes. I had it in me!  And, I did!  I went for a full thirty, yes 30, minutes yesterday.  When I started running at the beginning of May I was barely going for thirty minutes at a time with walk breaks that were longer than the running segments. Now, I am spending the whole thirty minutes running without walking breaks in between (but still with the five minute warm-ups and cool-downs).

So I will keep running. I will run when I can and where I can. A gym run on the treadmill is better than no run at all.  I will run by myself because I am too much of a social creature to run with others when I have an opportunity to walk and talk with them.  I will continue to push myself and reward myself for my hard work. I am making progress and becoming stronger than I have ever been and a better runner that I thought I would be.

I have only three more days left of the C25K program, and three more pounds to lose to hit my first weight goal.  I will wear my Road ID bracelet proudly as a reminder of the pounds I've dropped, and enjoy my new Birkenstock sandals as they comfort my tired feet.  I will continue to build speed and distance, muscle and stamina.  I will run races to help me maintain motivation and to have fun.

I will continue to run!