I Forgot

Today was a good fitness day for me. I ran Week 4/Day 3 of C25K outside today. I also went to a slow flow class this afternoon at Charlotte Family Yoga Center.

I forgot how GOOD it feels to run outside! I loved seeing all the other Charlotteans on the greenway, walking/running/biking their way into better health. I forgot how great it feels to have the sun on your face or on your back, as you inhale and exhale that (relatively) fresh air as you give your lungs a workout.

I also forgot how drastically different it is to run outside versus running on the treadmill.

Whoo! Week 4/Day 3 kicked my butt! The 5 minute segments felt like they took forever to complete. Especially the last one. But I got through all the running and I didn't stop not one time. Granted it was a sum total of 16 minutes of running (broken up into two 3 minute segments and two 5 minute segments), during the running time I averaged a 10:59 pace.

Not bad for someone who is a year older and 15-20 lbs heavier than when she could avearge a 9:45 pace.

This is my first week getting back to running on a regular basis. I wanted to be somewhere between 11:00 - 11:30, so I hit that mark. But I also realize that was really pushing and not a "comfortable" run. Definitely NOT a conversational pace.

Thanks to yoga, I am definitely learning to extend myself more grace - on and off the mat. I could be frustrated with my weight gain, frustrated with my injuries (which really - I still am many times), but today I was grateful that I was actually able to run. Albeit with a knee brace on, but I was able to run. And for that, I'm grateful. :)