9 weeks

This morning, I finished off week 9 of my "learn to walk/run 10km" journey.  It almost felt like a first time getting out there - it was really hard to get up the motivation, get my gear on, and leave the house.  I am not sure if it was the change in the weather (a little cooler, which should have been motivating) or it just being another long week at work, but I was a slug.  Once I got halfway through my run, things got a little easier, and by the end, I was pretty satisfied.  You do feel better once you have the exercise done for the day - anything else is a bonus.

This week was run 7 mins, and walk 2 mins.  Next week, it jumps to run 10 mins and walk a minute.  See, I am not so sure about how I am supposed to get up to 10km per run in the next 4 weeks (13 week program) when I am running between 5.5 - 6.5 km per time out, and the runs shorten in length in the next few weeks.  Maybe most people out there get moving faster, but I am staying more at the same pace and building on my endurance.  I did a 9 minute segment today, so I know I can do 9... so I guess I started to feel better in my run today when I decided that I would modify week 10 if I need to, and realistically, even add time to my runs to make sure that I am slowly building up the distance I can cover in a shorter amount of time.

Between my walks and runs this week, I covered over 30 km!!! I think part of the reason it was tough today is that I undermined myself a bit yesterday and was trying on all sorts of clothes I have - ones that have never fit, ones that didn't really fit when I bought them, some hand me downs I got from a friend that lost weight last year... at the end of the day, my clothes are fitting better. Some of the ones I want to fit in to, I am not quite there yet.. but it is coming.  I do understand that slow is better - it is a lifestyle change I am after, not a quick drop of some weight and then it all comes back on as soon as I go back to my evil ways.  I can feel my legs getting stronger, and my endurance (and confidence) is growing.  Shirts are fitting better, and I think I am overall feeling better.

I love being able to run out of my door, and I am running beside the Fraser River along an amazing path within minutes.  This was one of the reasons I wanted to move back here, and I am so glad that I am doing it.  Physical exercise was a disconnect in my life, and I am getting I am working on it.  It is good for my head.  I am out and hitting the dykes at sunrise.  I have seen some amazing sunrises this summer.  When I think about my 40th year, I will think about the amazing weather this summer, getting active again, my kids getting older, a fabulous date with my hubby, (hopefully) some great camping trips, and just embracing this next decade.

It has helped to blog about running.  It was a hard one this morning.  I could have happily not gone out.   I felt so much better for having gone out, and for the cold water that was waiting for me.  I need to remember these moments - and hold on to them.  It is not easy to keep up motivation every day.  In August, we have a few camping trips planned, and I will work at keeping up with 3 runs a week.  I may even run on my camping trips.   This is unheard of.  I remember when I went on a canoeing trip with a dear friend, and she went for a run before we headed out to the lake - I thought she was nuts.  I think I understand why a little better now - especially since I have discovered I like to run first thing in the morning.