Three Miles!

I'm very proud of myself.

These are five words I'm becoming better at not only feeling but actually saying- out loud (yes, it counts as out loud when I write it here on my blog).

After I wrapped up work (with a lot more on my to do list that I could have stayed at home to cross off), I headed off to the gym- on bike. It's a nice way to warm up for my workout and ease out of work mode and into me mode.

I locked up my bike and bounded up the stairs to find my favorite treadmill was back in action. I got my station all set up and mentally psyched myself up to attempt to run more than I ran the other day- 2.76 miles. I took one towel and covered up the screen so I wouldn't know how much I was running and turned off all the time controls so I didn't know how long I had been running for and how much longer I had to go. I put on the headphones, put my "All Workout Music" playlist on shuffle, threw my wedding rings into the water cup holder (don't tell my husband this) and off I went.

Probably 5-7 minutes into the run, I was wondering how in god's name I was going to keep running for more than 2.76 miles. I do this to myself frequently when I'm running (or probably doing anything I don't think I can do). Sometimes I have the mental strength to keep going. And sometimes I don't. I'm happy to report that tonight I did. The little trick I used tonight was to increase the speed just slightly whenever I felt like I wanted to stop. I kept the pace elevated until the feeling passed or when I needed to slow down in order to keep running. That little tactic seemed to work, because before I knew it, I had already been running for 2.18 miles.

With less than a mile to go, I felt certain that three miles was in my future tonight. I spent the last couple of laps going back and forth increasing the speed to get my HR up there and pulling back to make sure I could keep running. I let go of expectations of how fast I should be going or how quickly I should be running the three miles in or even how fast I used to be able to run three miles in. I just ran at a comfortable pace and when three miles came around, I felt great.

It's been amazing to see and feel the progress my body has been making with all the cardio, weight training and nutritious and mindful eating. I love that I can run three miles.

I know a lot of people don't like to run. For a lot of people it just doesn't feel good or isn't an exercise they really enjoy. And for the past couple of years, I felt that way the majority of the time I attempted to run. My weight made it nearly impossible to run comfortably and pleasurably (if there's such a combination!). But I powered on because the idea of running really made me happy. It reminded me of some of my happiest memories when I was in high school and while I by no means am looking to recreate my high school years, I do want to recreate that ability I had then to just put on a pair of sneakers and run out the door and run six miles effortlessly.

Maybe I won't ever get back to that, but today it sure as hell felt like it was possible!