It has been absolutely no secret that I have been soul searching lately. I’ve been seeking answers to deep questions. I’ve been desperately looking for solutions to my weight issues. I’ve been longing for a return of my awesome fitness level. I want to be happy.
Wait, what fitness level am I talking about? You know, the fitness level that I was at when I met Jason. The level that allows me to run 5 miles at sunrise get home and immediately push mow for an hour before breakfast. Go inside to cool down, shower and eat breakfast before heading out to hike with Jason for 6,8 or 10 miles. It didn’t faze me! (Dang, I was a machine!). But I took a job with a 1.5 hour (if traffic was kind) commute….my running time disappeared. Life happened and my fitness level slowly disappeared.
Hand in hand with my fitness level is that I KNOW that my head is more clear when I’m running and hiking! Seriously, I composed (in my head) the absolute best posts while I was running. I had the most amazing epiphanies while I was running. Life’s problems faded while I was running. Life seemed better and the endorphins I got from running made life better.
I’m struggling with an overwhelming sadness and depression. I’m fighting it, but I want to overcome it. So my mind went back to running. I honestly miss running. I’ve said that quite a few times over the last few years. But I didn’t want to start running because I don’t want to ‘beat up my body’. I tried a few times and it hurt! But just recently we have been watching ultra marathoners on YouTube. They are pushing themselves to the max…through pain. Through hell. And here I am worried about a wee little pain?
So this morning found me lacing up my running shoes. I decided to restart a couch to 5k style program. I honestly think that was my problem when I was trying to run in recent years. I was trying to pick up where I left off and it wasn’t working. I know that if I start slow and build that my body will handle it better. So that is what I did, I’m starting at the beginning. The program I’m following had me warm up and cool down with a 5 minute walk and then I did an alternating walk and run, one minute each..back and forth. I was expecting pain and misery. I was super surprised. It was, dare I say it….easy! Not bad at all!!!
I can only say thank you to my weekday workouts…the ones that I do at 5:30 in the morning, religiously! They paved the way for a smooth and easy transition. I honestly probably could have gone longer. But nope! Trust and follow the training plan! But, the crazy thing? I am excited and can’t wait to get out there for my next run!!!!!