Awesome 3 mile run this morning

When I woke up, I noticed it had been raining, but wasn't currently, so I decided to do my run outdoors on a local school's track. I don't mind cold weather running in the least. While it can be hard to muster the motivation to get started, my body just does better in the colder weather. I guess I was born to live in Washington! I just layered on lightweight jacket, headwarmer, and gloves.

There was only one other runner, and he actually was wrapping up his workout as I was starting mine. So I ended up having the entire schoolyard and track to myself! It was beautiful - the air was heavy with fog and mist and it felt clean.

I ran the first mile in 11:50. While a slow time for most, it was too fast for me right now. But I'm choosing not to get discouraged about this. I want to enjoy the entire journey of getting fit and getting back into running. After all, if I'm not enjoying it and feeding myself negative messages about where I'm at, what sort of motivation is that?

I decided to walk the next quarter mile. After regrouping, I started running again. The next half mile felt great, but then I started getting quite fatigued. At this point, I slowed WAYYYY down and was able to finish the next two miles without a walk break. For my last lap, I went as fast as I could hold for an entire lap - which turned out to be roughly a 10:00 pace. To cool down, I walked another quarter mile. All told, 3.5 miles in about 40 minutes (including the half mile spent walking).

I feel so good knowing I could totally complete that 5K now if I had to, but I'm glad I have a few months to hone on fitness and improve my time. Now, off to shower and take my kids to the library (our Saturday ritual!).

Photo credit Jacque Stengel