07/16/10 (rest day)

Friday = rest day.

Rest day is the hardest day of the week, and the easiest day of the week...all rolled into one.

I feel guilty not getting out there. But, it feels wonderful to give the body a rest.

Even MORE wonderful to sleep in!!!

I've been trying to find other running blogs....of people who are fairly new to running, or running for recreation, or both. I'm not going to win any titles doing this....but I DO feel like I'm winning my life back...one step at a time.

I'm constantly worried about my knees. They don't hurt....but I want to keep it that way. I hear horror stories from people that were runners in the past, and had to stop. Is it because they didn't take the right precautions? Are there precautions I should be taking, that I don't know about?

I can't say that I feel "good" while I'm out there...but the feeling I have when the run is done....it's nothing short of wonderful!! The sense of accomplishment is amazing. The "see what I did" factor! I'm doing it for myself, and I shouldn't need the congrats of others....but I'm so darned proud of what I'm doing....I want to share it. A pat on the back is never a bad thing!!!! :-)

A co-worker (and marathoner) came up to me today. "You've lost some weight!"


He asked what I'd been doing. I told him I was running.

I can call myself a runner now. It still feels a little funny though. I mean, I haven't done a marathon or half marathon, a 10K or 5K...yet. But...I AM getting up at 5:00 am during the week to run. I AM one of those people with a training calendar on the side of the fridge. I AM one of those people that, while visiting friends or family out of town, does get up earlier than everyone so she can still get her run in.

I never ran in high school. In fact, I didn't know that I could. No one ever asked me to try. I think I might have been pretty decent at it actually. :-)

I tried to run once. After the second day out I had shin splints something fierce....and never tried again.

My shoes were horrible, I didn't stretch, and I ran as fast as I could for a decent (= way too far) distance.

What was I thinking????

When I think back on it now, it makes me wonder how much I'm doing wrong, NOW, that I don't know. Doing something, without knowing what I'm doing....it's terrifying to me.

I don't keep track of my time while running. I just have a certain mileage I want to achieve each day. I only know my time when it's all said and done. I took up running to get healthy, to lose weight, and to get outside more. Time, pace, splits....they aren't my motivation.

Yet....when I look at my run online, and see that I improved from the run before...I can't help buy smile from ear to ear.

Other runners at work come over to talk...."Man it was humid today. How was your run this morning?"

THEY are asking ME how my morning run went. Craziness!!!!! :-)