The hills of Parkwood

"when I run I feel God's pleasure"- Chariots of Fire

This is my mantra. This has been my running mantra and I was so grateful for the dear lady that reminded me of it this morning. I did not want to run today. DID NOT!! I got dressed but had to call Mary to encourage me to actually get on the road. So, my goal this week was SLOW but DISTANT. So, I set my goal high and went for the 3 mile loop around Parkwood. The first mile was really good. The second mile was surprisingly pretty good. The mile marker 2 and 3 were walls but as I press through I found another "stride" that I could just run and not think or commiserate. When the hills got tough and I wanted to quit at the wall, I reminded myself that when I run, God finds pleasure in me. It doesn't matter how fast or how far. God is simply delighted in watching me do it-run. He created me to be active, fit and healthy and it gives Him pleasure to watch me. I surpassed even my lofty goals today!! I even ran an additional .3 miles past my road to the stop sign and back. WOW, what a rush!

My stats:
3.6 miles
42 minutes
5.14 mi./hr.
11.67 min./mi.
ALL Running!!!

Running track

So, I went to the Y today. I had to take Tristan to school and so I figured that since I had to get dressed, it would be easier to just go to the Y from there.
The treadmills were all full and so I decided to run the track. I wasn't thrilled because it takes 14 laps around to equal a mile. Talk about running is circles and getting nowhere!!!!!!
Surprisingly, it was considerably easier than the treadmill. On the treadmill, I have to focus on finding distractions. As I ran, I was able to find distractions naturally-people walking in front of me, people playing b-ball below me, counting down on my fingers the lap count, etc. It was actually a really good run. I set out to accomplish 2 miles and 30 minutes. I ended up crushing my goals!! YIPPEE!!!

My stats:
46 laps= 3.22 miles
41 minutes
4.8 mi./hr.
12.42 min./mi.
all running, no walking!!

A day at the gym

So, Mary and I were suppose to meet to runt together. It rained. So, we decided to meet at the Y. I lost my keys. By the time I got to the Y, Mary had to leave. I did the treadmill by myself. I walked/ran for 30 minutes. LONG and torturous. If I never do it again, it will be too soon!!!!!!!!
My stats:
2.5 miles
30 minutes
ran 15 minutes, then cycled:
walked 1-2 minutes, run 4-5 minutes

MISERABLE!!!!!!!!

Day Two

Things went better today. I did the same 1.7 mile loop but managed to run the whole way!! I went the opposite direction in the loop as to avoid the long and steady incline that got the best of me yesterday. This way I got one major hill and one moderate hill rather than several LONG and steady uphills. The downside to this though was the 'home stretch' was uphill.... NOT FUN!
My stats:
1.7 miles
21 minutes
All run, no walk

Yeah!

Day one

Well, I am running again but feeling quite intimidated because it has been 6 months and Mary and Grace have already been training for several weeks.

Today I ran 1.7 miles in 22 minutes. I walked for about 3 minutes. It was HARD and I was panting and falling out once I hit the living room carpet!

BUT I did it!!