And yes, you read that right. I was running yesterday! I did 4 miles and it was great!
I know in my last post I said I wasn't missing running yet and I had no interest in starting up again, but then something happened that changed all that. (This story will make me sound like a total twat, but I don't care. It's the truth and it got me running again.) On the 17th Portland had it's 2nd largest race of the year, the Shamrock Run. I have done this race 2 years prior (5k & 8k) and had planned to run the 15k this year had I not quit running in July. I was totally fine with not running, in fact, I didn't even think about the race on the day of. It wasn't until the next morning until I overheard one of the Bitches talking about the race and her 5k time. I try really hard to not be a jealous person, but my first thought was "Bitch, I haven't run since July and I could beat that time easily". If I liked the Bitches I might have been proud of her as it was her first race, but I loathe her very existence so it bugged me. Plus I had to listen to her repeat the damn story over and over and over all damn day. So to be spiteful, I mapped out a run when I got home that would be a 5k equivalent, geared up and hit the pavement. It was amazing. I felt good. Only had to walk once for a short distance to clear some internal nose sweat (snot). And the best part? I beat her time. By a lot. Take that, Bitches! HA! (No, I didn't tell her about this run. She has no clue that I am better than her in this aspect of life and that she inspired me to get back on the road.) I was thinking about this while running yesterday and I'm okay with jealousy in this instance. Sitting around being jealous of others is one thing, but being jealous and getting up and DOING something about it is another thing entirely. Using jealousy as inspiration to be better is good.
The day after my thighs wanted to kill me. I could barely climb the stairs at work. It was torture. But the good kind. I got on the elliptical that night to loosen the legs back up which helped tremendously. And then, out of no where the Man found a random box in our storage unit that just happened to contain my Garmin! Perfect timing on his part! I actually jumped up and down screaming when I saw it! I had been using my lack of GPS as a crappy excuse to not run so now nothing was in my way! I knew I COULD run still, and I had all the tools at my disposal to do it again!
So yesterday when I saw that the weather was going to be sunny & warm I decided to hit the pavement again and push myself a little further. And once again, it was glorious! I had my GPS and no excuses. I just went out and had fun. I let my mind wander and didn't focus on my time, just the distance and how my body felt. Sure, I had to take more walk breaks, but I kept them quick. And surprisingly, my legs feel fine today. They feel tight but not painful. I will still do some elliptical tonight to loosen them up though.
I'm happy to be back running again. I know I am only 2 runs in and by no means where I was before, but I'm not too far behind. I have no intention to sign up for any races any time soon. I'm running for pleasure and personal gain, nothing else. I think it was the pressure of races, speed, and time that got in my way before and discouraged me. In fact, I know it was. I run for me now. And I run for fun. And when I don't want to run in the rain, cold or heat, I don't have to. I can elliptical. Which I also still love and don't want to neglect.
So beyond the running, my life is about to change drastically. On Friday I accepted a new position at work. I'm really excited about it, but tremendously nervous at the same time. I have wanted to leave my current role for 2 years so this change has been a long time coming. The part that sucks is that I start the new position the day after I get back from vacation. And whats worse is that until my replacement is hired & trained I will be doing my current job part time in addition to the new job...and only getting paid to do one job. I'm hoping they make quick progress on hiring my replacement while I'm on vacation.
Ah, vacation...we leave in 5 days. I cannot wait. I need the sun and ocean so badly I can barely stand it. I'm not at the "goal" weight I had set for myself which I'm moderately okay with. It was a pipe-dream really and I only focused on it Monday thru Thursday. Then the weekend showed up and I focused on shovelling food down my throat and not ellipticalling. I look great in my bikini, my clothes fit better than they have in months, and I am below my Lifetime weight (which only matters if I get off my butt & go weigh in at the meeting location I recently discovered near my house). I wanted my weight to be lower only so that I could indulge on vacation and not have to worry about gaining a bunch of weight that might not come back off. But since that didn't happen I will just have to stay mindful of what I'm doing and really focus when I get back on eating better on weekends.
Oh, and I'm officially attending FitBloggin in June. I bought a ticket off of someone who had something come up and couldn't attend. So I got the Early Bird price. Which is great! I'm actually excited. I only know like 4 people who will be there, but it should still be a hoot. Plus, swag. Like whoa. :)
I'll try and post again when I return from vacation...but I may be busy for a bit.
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