Running Update

This is for my own journaling purposes. Probably boring for most of you but I'll love looking back on this later :)

I wasn't able to get out running much the last 2 weeks of December because of the massive amounts of snow and ice. (I did get a good workout pushing Sean on the sled though!) When we were up at my parents after Christmas I figured I'd take advantage of my mom's treadmill. When I go running outside, my endurance sucks. I can't run very far at all until I have to slow to a walk to catch my breath. When I was on the treadmill though, I was able to set my pace. I took it at a slower pace than I do when running outside and it was a drastic difference. I warmed up by walking 4 minutes (.2 miles.) Then I sped it up a little to a 13 minute mile pace. I was able to run (jog, I suppose) a mile, then a mile and a half, then 2 miles, all the while not even breathing heavily. This is something I'd never experienced! Never did I think that I, Kimberly, could go that far without stopping to catch my breath. Anyway, when I hit the 2 mile mark I decided that since I was doing so well, I'd go for a 5k, so 3.2 miles. I did it! I ran the ENTIRE 3.2 miles without slowing to a walk. (Is it 3.1 miles? I ran 3.2 to be safe.) Some of you are thinking "man, that's easy! I can do that in my sleep!" However, this is HUGE for me. 6 months ago (I was pregnant, so I guess 1 year ago) I NEVER would have imagined that I would on purpose, without being chased, run 5k just because I wanted to. I have always *hated* running. The thought of running just for the fun of it just did not make any sense to me. Back to my story, after I finished my 3.2 miles I walked for another 6 minutes to cool down, bringing my total workout to 50 minutes. My quads were kind of sore the next day so I only ran a mile. Then Thursday I went running outside. I wanted to take my new slower pace into my own hands instead of the treadmill's and test it out. I did 1.84 miles and again, didn't slow down. I am loving the center button on my iPod that when I touch it it tells me my pace :) because then I can know for sure when to kick it up or bring it back. I was getting bored with my usual route so I took a new route today when I went running. I wanted to go at least 2.5 miles and I went 3 miles! I cannot believe how drastic my running abilities have changed once I had the pace epiphany. Last week I was toying with the idea of *maybe* entering and running a 10k. (Meaning it wouldn't have happened.) Now, I know for sure that I want to run the Helvetia 10k on June 13th. I know I can do it. And it will keep me motivated to keep training. Anyone want to join me?

I can't say that I *love* running yet. But I can say that I do look forward to going. I do love syncing my iPod after a run and looking at the green line on nikeplus.com that illustrates my run for me. I do love that it tells me how many miles I've gone and how many workouts I've done. I do love the break I get from everything else when I go running. Don't get me wrong, I love my boys...but it's nice to leave them all at home and go do something for myself, especially if it's something healthy!

I haven't noticed any differences in my body yet. I haven't lost weight or anything (the holidays didn't help with that) but I know that with the help of new year's resolutions, I'll hopefully be able to lose the extra weight in my belly that having 2 boys gave me!