In the bag! Three runs completed this week!

So glad to say I finished this week with three runs completed!

A long winter of sporadic running has left me soft and out-of-shape!  Ugh!  But that should be easy to fix, hopefully!  Running seems to be the fix-all for me.  I trim up, feel hungrier, enjoy food more, and have an overall happier outlook on life when I’m running.  At 50, I feel so lucky to be able to run.  My fear is that if I quit for too long, I’ll never be able to run again.  So, I have to stay motivated.  Even, if I feel like the only old, slow girl out there, I can run.  Well, what I do is a slow jog, but it works for me!

My weekly goal for running:  3.0 miles, three times a week, without stopping.

This week, I can proudly say I got in three runs.  Monday and Wednesday I ran 2.0 without stopping, and then walked a lap, ran a lap, to finish at 3.0 miles.  Today, Friday, I ran the whole thing, 3 miles.  Also, I ran it at a good pace and not the slow plodding run that takes FOREVER!  I feel great knowing I completed this week with three successful runs.  I am not overly sore and my hip feels good.  Lots of stretching before and after, balancing on one leg, really stretching to touch the floor. 

I try to eat meat free for breakfasts and lunches and several suppers each week.  This week, I made my own bread, a loaf of honey, oat, wheat.  Breakfasts mostly were this homemade bread, toasted with honey.  That, and the terrific coffee a guy at work makes, which I love!

I’m still running inside.  The weather is horrible in Missouri most of the time (to me).  I gravitate to the treadmill, with my YMCA “friends” where we smile, sweat, and chug along.  No fancy running gear or centerfold bodies at 5am… well, for the most part.  I very much enjoyed my running music today by Amy Winehouse, Adelle, Sarah McLachlan.  Finished with a little John Denver.  Ahhh..

Confession:  I have to resist the urge to count when I’m running.  Need to focus more on the music and less on the counting LOL.

Running gives me a great start to the day.  I ran, showered, got dressed for work.  Made the bed, prepped breakfast and lunch for my bag, loved on my chihuahuas, and managed to crochet the trim on a baby sock in the car while my husband drove us to work.  Looks like a great start to the day!

I’ll take it!  Happy Friday!

This is "Rosie".  She doesn't know why her mama is up so early putting on running shoes!

My mother would freak out if she saw that I was up this early.  She is retired and would never consider getting up before 7AM.

 Yes, I need new shoes.  But, I'm ready to go!  Doing this!

All done!  6AM and it's still dark.  Ugh!!

Have a great weekend!

Gina

I Get to Run - What I love and sometimes hate - about running.

Daily Log:

Monday, March 29, 2017 - 3.25 miles

Lately I have been sporadic at best at my running. Yet, I love to run. 

The things I need to remember that I love about running: 

• I love the challenge to run and to keep running even though my brain says “Last step – just stop!” 
• I love the total feeling of mind over matter when I get finished. 
• I love total miles completed at the end of a week. 
• I love the way my body feels when it’s fit. 
• I love not having jiggly legs! 
• I love running to my favorite music, like John Denver, the Bee Gees, or Bread. 
• I love that running makes me hungry. I love guilt free chocolate milk and peanut butter toast! 
• I love the happy mood that settles in my soul for many hours after I run. 
• I love the YMCA and the treadmills there. (Am I weird or what?) 
• I love the little man who wears a “World War II Vet” hat and a shirt that says, “Each day is a Bonus!” He must surely be 90 years old and yet he marches on that treadmill at a stiff pace for miles and miles at 5AM most every morning. He motivates me every morning I walk in the door of the YMCA. He must never miss a day! 
• I love that my friend Mr. Wessing asks about me when I’m not there. 
• I love the friends I have there who I may not know by name, but who offer me a smile and a wish of a good day when I leave. (They offer me more motivation than any mirror could ever offer.) 
• I love running the Katy Trail. 

The things I don’t love about running: 

• I don’t love leaving my warm nest of a bed and my sweetie to go run in the dark. 
• Time changes kill me. I hate the time changes! 
• Sickness sets me back too far, mostly because I’m not consisting enough in my running. My body struggles to hang on, and yet I will keep running. 
• I don’t love that I look like a wet dog when I get finished. Hate those beautiful runners LOL!
• I don’t love that running shoes are so expensive. 
• I don’t love when my running shorts ride up and my legs rub together. 
• I don’t love that I don’t feel safe on the Katy Trail – my favorite place to run. 
• I don’t love running when it’s cold. I hate running cold. 
• I don’t love that I’m not fast enough to run with a friend. 
• I don’t love that I can’t run and talk. Just haven’t mastered that yet! 

My body feels soft and fat and out of shape. But for now, I can still run. I need to run while I can. This gift of running can be taken from me in one quick stroke of injury or disease. 

I am starting this blog as a journal for my running. It will be a great way to remember the miles, the events I participate in, what I see when I run, and what I look like when I'm runing. I want to remember the scenery and the people I run with. 

 One day I will not be able to run. I may be too old, too sick, too busy, but today I can run. I get to wear running pants and sweat until I am unrecognizable. I get to sign up for 5K events with my child and my friends. I get to see the sun rise or set, and the Missouri River flow beneath my feet. 

I get to listen to my favorite music as I gasp for breath. Let’s see where running takes me this year. 2017. A year when I can still run…

Gina