Life is busy!

Wow, life has gotten really busy. I had to look at the week's schedule today and figure out how to fit my exercise in. It'll be different each day, tailored to what's going on. I'm glad to have planned that out though, because otherwise it won't happen.

I'm up to running 25 minute stretches now. I'm not sure how accurate my pedometer is, but it says I ran 1.9 miles today. When I was running 20 minutes, I thought that was 2 miles, but when we drove the course, it wasn't that long. My strides must be shorter than some because I know my beat (150 bpm) on my music isn't a very slow pace for running. I have been trying to concentrate on lengthening my stride and am able to do it in spurts.

I've decided to run a 5K with my sister in St. Louis on Thanksgiving. I'm really excited to have that tangible goal in front of me. What a thrilling day that will be. She'll probably smoke me on the race, but that's okay, as long as we're both doing it, I'll be happy. She's always been more into fitness than me, so it'll be fun to have this to share.

As I was running today a truck pulled out in front of me on the dirt road. It was far ahead so the dust it was kicking up was going to be long gone before I got there. My imagination started wandering and I wondered what I would do if someone thought it would be funny to slow down and drive right in front of me, forcing me to breathe in their dust. (Although typing this out makes me realize if they were driving slowly enough to be right in front of me at a running pace, there wouldn't be much dust. Anyway. . .) My immediate reaction was that I would turn around and run back the way I had come, to be free of their dust and to be able to continue my workout. As silly as that all is, it really showed me that I have made huge strides in choosing to be a strong person. I am taking control of my health and my body and it is amazing.

For example, the other day my mp3 player froze up and needed to be reset with a small pin-sized object in order to continue on my workout. (I NEED music!) I was already 5 minutes of warm-up walking into my workout, so I didn't want to walk home just to get a pin. Well, I was near the home of our friends so I knocked. Nobody was home. I looked around on their property for a stray safety pin or paper clip. Of course, nothing. I noticed some dried grass and picked up a good sturdy piece. It worked in the reset hole and I was able to get my music back on and get running. I was so proud of my resourcefulness and my determination to find a way to keep going. I was choosing strength instead of giving up. I now keep a paper clip on the cord of my stopwatch. :)