Category: running

5K

It had been far too long since I went for a run, so after work yesterday, I laced up my running shoes, braided my hair, and headed to the gym. I was surprised how much I had missed it, even in the short break that I had taken. It felt good to fall into that rhythm, to move, to work up that sweat.

I ended up running just over a 5K distance, then stretched and went home to clean up, change clothes, and treat myself to a new face mask I had just picked up. I have a ridiculous amount of body lotions, face masks, serums, you name it, but what can I say? I love self care, and hey, I deserve it!

Then, at last, my favorite time of the day: time to cuddle up with my husband, relax, chat about anything and everything, unwind from the day, and just enjoy some time to ourselves before heading to bed and closing out the day.

I slept so much better last night. I feel like I am getting my stride back. I am sliding back into my happy routine and am getting excited again about setting goals for myself.

On top of that, we have fun plans for this weekend, our favorite holiday is next week, and this morning was the first noticeably cooler weather of the season…ahhhh! Bye, summer! Don’t hurry back. I have a huge stack of sweaters and sweatshirts just waiting for the chilly days!

The Best Trips

I adore this quote. I love taking trips and exploring new places with my husband, and long after we get back home, we are still excited and happy, talking about things we did, sharing pictures, kicking around ideas for our next trip…and honestly, just being happy to be home again!

We had a great time at the beach this past weekend. The waves were rougher than our last trip, and it was so much fun! We are not sit-on-our-butts-and-just-look-at-the-ocean people. We like to see, hear, feel, play with, and fully embrace the ocean. As soon as we had our umbrella and chairs set up, we took off for the water. We jumped in the waves until we needed to catch our breath, relaxed in our chairs until we were rested up, then ran back to the water, over and over.

On Saturday night, as we were getting dressed for dinner, my husband smiled and proudly showed me the new clothes he got just for our special dinner night, to surprise me. I had to laugh, because I had packed a special outfit, too, to surprise him!

When I slipped into my dress, though, something was obviously not right. I thought I had worn the dress fairly recently, but apparently it had been much longer than I remembered. I stepped in front of the mirror. The dress looked at least two sizes too big! I guess my newly refreshed love affair with running has eliminated some of my favorites from my closet, but there are certainly worse problems to have. I sure don’t mind having to go shopping soon!

In the meantime, however, that is how it came to be that my husband, in his new clothes, looking so handsome, ended up going out to a beach dinner with his jeans-and-tshirt wife, ha ha. Next time I will try on the dress before I put it in the suitcase!

This morning, not long after I got to work, my husband texted me a video of the sunrise we watched on the beach our first morning of our trip. I have watched it several times already. We weren’t ready for our weekend to be over yet, and I am already watching the clock, waiting to head home to my best buddy and wave-jumping partner!

Inspiring

One of my goals this week is to go running at least twice, so after work yesterday, I dug out my running shoes and headed to the gym. I used to love running, but getting back to running and being a runner are two very different, distinct things. I am still very much in the “Oh dear Lord, this hurts, and how much longer is this going to last, for the love of God?” phase of getting back into running. It’s unpleasant, but it’s my own fault I have to go through this again, and there’s no way through it but to do it.

I wanted to quit after the first mile or so, but I just kept playing with the speed, running a little faster for a bit, then easing back to catch my breath. By doing that, I was able to cover 4 miles.

When I slowed to a walk to cool down, a woman on a treadmill nearby said something loudly. Since I was the only one close to her, I assumed she was talking to me, so I took out my earbuds and said, “What?”

She said, “That was so inspirational!”

I was lacking oxygen, mind you, and I was tired and worn out, so I had to ask, “What was?”

She smiled and said, “You were! Very inspiring.”

At first, I cringed. When people say someone is inspiring, it typically means they didn’t believe that person was capable of doing whatever they just did. So basically, she was saying, “Who would have guessed your fat butt could stay in motion that long and not die instantly of cardiac arrest?”

But there are plenty of worse things to be called than inspiring, right? And if watching me huff and puff and try not to die on the treadmill motivated that woman in any way, then I feel honored to be the one to inspire her. I smiled too and said, “Thank you.”

When I got home and told my husband about it, including how at first I felt a bit insulted, he said, “Don’t look for anything negative in it. She probably said it because you were out there working hard to make changes instead of just sitting on the couch.” I’m sure it was obvious I was struggling, too, but I kept going. Who knows? She may have hung in there just a little longer herself, waiting for me to cool down, so she could tell me that. It’s cool to think she had an extra-long workout because of me.

When I look at it that way, I can see how silly I was to not automatically appreciate the compliment the way it was intended. I guess I just found it hard to believe I was able to inspire anyone when I have so far to go to my goals. I’m happy she found inspiration in my struggle and in my refusal to just give up. It makes me want to keep going!

My Wagon

You know that feeling when you are falling backward, and you fling your arms out and grasp wildly, like frantic windmills, desperately seeking anything and everything to latch onto and break your fall? That is how I have felt the past few weeks.

For some reason, I fell off the wagon right after Thanksgiving. I held it together for the holiday itself, even lost a small bit of weight that week, then burst apart at the seams after that. I keep drifting further and further away from my elusive wagon.

That resulted in the windmilling arms and flinging arms mentioned above. What could I do to motivate myself, relight my spark? I’ll join this challenge, I’ll sign up for that, I’ll promise this.

I am not exactly aiming for a specific weight, though. I weigh in, yes, to monitor my progress (or regression, as the case may be lately), but my ultimate goal is to fit back into a specific pair of jeans in my closet that has been waiting for me for a long time. I figure once those fit comfortably again, I don’t care what the scale says, I am back to my happy weight.

My husband asked me the other day how close I am to my goal. When I asked him why, he said he would honestly be happy if I didn’t lose another ounce. He was quick to add that he wants me to do whatever makes me happy. I had to smile. It’s good to know, while I am wracking my brain how to get back on track with losing weight, that he thinks I look awesome just the way I am.

Back to that quickly disappearing wagon of mine that I fell off weeks ago. I decided a challenge based on weight loss alone will not be very motivating, since my goals also include increasing my fitness and strength, and running a half marathon in 2021. I shifted gears and have decided to hunt for a running challenge instead.

This week, I have back-to-basics goals: logging all my food and drink. Working out at least 30 minutes a day. Drinking more water and easing up on my crack-addict level soda addiction.

The holidays are a tough time to get back on track, but if not now, when?

Five Pounds!

After my gain last week, I wanted to redeem myself. I had been losing each week, slow and steady, and I didn’t like that I had recently gained two pounds. Usually after I have been out of town or thrown off my routine in some way, it takes me forever to get back on track, and I end up gaining even more. But this time, I got back right back at it, logging my food, working out, everything I knew my body needed.

It worked! On Saturday, I weighed in to a five pound loss. I couldn’t believe it. I got off the scale and back on to make sure. I just replaced the batteries, so I know there is nothing wrong with the scale. Wow, look what happens when I don’t get stupid about a weight gain, when I keep my head on straight and just get back on the right path. Who knew, right?

I took a rest day yesterday. Okay, I’ll be honest. It was more like a completely lazy day. And it was wonderful! My husband and I spent the entire day together, not doing much of anything, really, just enjoying the quiet day and picking on each other and having fun. I ignored any semblance of a to-do list and curled up and snuggled with him, and I don’t regret it at all. In fact, I need to do that more often.

This morning, though, I had a date with the treadmill. I passed the six-mile mark and think it just might be time to take my runs back outside. Treadmills are excruciatingly boring, and the longer my distance gets, the harder it’s going to be to not just scrap a run because I got mind-numbingly bored.

I am feeling good about this week. It’s certainly off to an awesome start. I know my loss this weekend will be small, to offset the big loss last week, but that’s okay. I am proud that I handled my gain so well and got back on track, and I am thrilled about increasing my running distance. Maybe there is hope for me yet!

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