6 Weeks

Yesterday completed six ...count em s-i-x "6" weeks of 5K training.   Yesterday was the first time I have not completed the mission as scheduled.  I had run the last week and a half intervals on the treadmill due to timing, but yesterday was beautiful and I wanted to savor and enjoy the outside so off I went.  I probably should have prepared and drank more water, but at this point I really thought if my program says to run 25 minutes straight without stopping that my body would just do what I told it to do because it had already been surprising me.  WRONG!  First there was the dead snake...when I first say him/her in my path I wasn't entirely certain he/she was dead but my options were oncoming traffic, breaking my leg going off the road or believe it to be dead as I thought it was.  Thankfully it was dead and I just had to run over it....have I mentioned I hate snakes.  Anyway at this point I am thinking I am pretty tough and I got this baby licked.  I can see my destination where I will turn around for my halfway point and thinking it looks pretty far away.  Next thing I know I am right there in this large parking lot making my turn and about to head  back when BAM...my legs just stopped running (jogging at best really).  Stopped!  I am thinking to myself and looking down realizing I did not tell my legs they could stop, but they just did like it or not.  I walked for about a minute and was on my way back and it was then feeling really, really hard.  I felt like my legs were lead!  I could see the end in sight and my house was in full view and I thought I can do this and guess what happened - you guessed it...my legs just stopped.  Again I was confused because I thought they did what I told them to do, but I realized they had a mind of there own.  At this point I wanted to cry.  I was feeling very defeated and could not understand.  I know there were cars in both directions, hot humid weather and a wind that I had not had on the treadmill for the last week, but I still felt like I was ready.

Later I looked it up on the internet and it seems my muscles ran out of glycogen and this happens even to marathon runners and the muscles basically quit on their own to recover.  Who knew?  I guess I should have, but today I have been able to reflect and realize that even though I have not lost "one red pound" as I like to say, I have gained a lot!  I have actually stuck with this program and exercised three days a week for six weeks straight.  That is huge!  Not only that, I actually like it and look forward to it.  Even though I do breathe hard, my lungs and heart are not what has been the hardest...my muscles and legs are my sore areas.  I am proud of myself.  I want to complete this.  I am still not doing the distance that I think I need at this point, but I am happy that after this amount of time I still WANT to do it! 

Tomorrow I turn 44 years old and it is time I take time for me!  My house needs cleaning and the laundry is behind and mildew on the back of the house needs to be cleaned, but right now I need to focus on me and the rest will come.  I like this new me.