Hi all!
Again, I’m sorry that I’ve been so spotty lately. School has been seriously taking over my life lately, and that doesn’t look like it will be stopping any time soon. So that being said, this will probably be my last post for a while (at least until May 9th). I’m still going to be keeping up my workout routines, healthy eating, and all this wonderful health stuff (drinking water like it’s my job!), but I just don’t have the time to sit down and write out a full and thoughtful blog very often right now, and that’s not fair to you as a reader, nor is it fair to my schoolwork and personal life (I originally tried to write this Saturday afternoon while I had an hour of “down time” while also trying to share that time with my fiancee. Let’s just say that I failed in both endeavors and basically wasted the hour).
First things first, let’s talk about my race this past Saturday! What a blast! There were just over 1,100 racers that finished the race, so it was such a huge event that I thought I would be intimidated as heck and all out of place. But when I showed up, I pulled in my VIP parking place and joined my fellow VIP’ers in our nice heated tent (and boy did we need it! 40 degrees with about 25mph winds! Brrr!!!). Everyone in the tent was smiling and welcomed me right in. Several people asked me if it was my first race (I must have dressed like a newbie or something), and offered all kinds of friendly tips and “secrets” about the course. Within a few minutes, I felt like I was just one of the gang. When it finally came time to venture outside to line up, I went all the way to the back of the line. I wasn’t exactly sure how much I was going to run because my knee was bothering me a little, even after I warmed up a bit, so I decided to walk for a while until I felt comfortable giving it a try. By about the first mile of speed walking, I finally felt warmed up enough to give jogging a try. I don’t know if it was because my legs were so cold that I couldn’t feel them, the energy in the air of being in a race, the awesome volunteers and fellow racers cheering everyone on, or what, but when I started jogging, I felt like I was running on air. I jogged for about 1/2 of a mile (I’m pretty sure this is longer than I’ve ever jogged without a walking break) before I realized that I was completely out of breath. It didn’t even feel like my legs had worked at all! The energy remained high throughout the rest of the race, and I walk/jogged as I could until the last 1/4 of a mile. The last 1/4 of a mile was lined with speakers and spectators who had dutifully remained to cheer on us slow-pokes. I couldn’t help it. I sprinted to the finish line. I could barely breathe as the volunteers handed me my beads (it was a Mardi Gras theme and costumes were encouraged. I’m ABSOLUTELY dressing up next year!) and water. I couldn’t stop smiling either. I didn’t run the whole race as I had originally intended at the beginning of the year, but by God, I ran almost half of it! And I’ve decided that I am absolutely hooked on running! It’s hard, miserably difficult to stay motivated (outside of races that is), very easy to hurt oneself (especially when one is as overweight as I still am), and I love every minute of it. My music and the sound of my shoes hitting the ground are finally getting loud enough to occasionally overshadow the voice in my head saying that I can’t run, nor will I ever be a runner. Screw you voice; just try and keep up with me. I won’t be stopping any time soon.
And then reality settled in this morning when I weighed in and realized that I had gained about 1.4 lbs this week. This didn’t really surprise me all that much as I took it easy on the cardio to save up for my race on Saturday, but I still ate like I was running my buns off. I’m sure you can do the math. But I’m not down about this too much. I know what I’ve done wrong, I know what I need to do differently this week, and it’s 72 freaking degrees out right now (even though I’m at work and forced to only sit as close to the window as I possibly can and catch a sliver of sun)! How can you be unhappy when it’s 72 and sunny? Hopefully I can sneak at least one jog in before it’s supposed to snow later this week (yeah, you read that right. Iowa can’t get itself together weather-wise until at least May… *sigh*). My goals for this month are pretty straight forward. I am going to get to the gym (or go for a run outside weather permitting) at least 3 times a week. I am going to drink at least half a gallon of water each day. I am going to stick to an arm routine (I may break my “last post for a while” bit and post this routine if I get the time later this week, but then I’m done until May!) to get these guns in shape for my wedding pics in September. And I am going to smile while working out and focus on how good I feel during and after each workout to try and reinforce exercise with good vibes.
Ok, that’s it for now! Can’t wait to fill you in on some hopefully
Life Between Lanes 