I FEEL GOOD!

Seriously - this is week 6 of the C25k program and today was day 3. After the warm-up walk I ran for 25 minutes to a fun mix of 80's music. It is my first day of vacation today, so I left home at 8:00 before it was too hot and had an amazing run.

I've been struggling with my pace and my breathing this week. I've been trying to increase my pace a bit, but I have found breathing hard this week due to the humidity and some mild asthma that I have that only surfaces when the humidity is really high. Thursday's run was a struggle, I had to focus so hard on my breathing and at one point I had to stop and walk for a minute to catch my breath.

Today though, it was a breeze. My muscles were in agreement with this run, my breathing came easy, and I kept a good pace throughout the whole run. I even picked up the pace at the end for the last 3 minutes, and for the last minute I ran full out.

Saw Natasha and Rodney Hawco out in their yard, and I even waved at them but I don't think they recognized me. I think Rodney shyly wondered who the heck I was but wasn't really sure. That's okay - I have a new cover for when I'm running so people passing me won't know who I am for a few weeks. There have been a LOT of second glances in the last couple of days.

I have to admit, I was very proud of myself at the end of the 25 minutes. Honestly, I wasn't sure I would be able to do this. Admittedly I am as stubborn as a mule and when I put my mind to something usually have great success at it. But I have never been able to run any more than maybe 200 meters without feeling like I was ready for a heart attack. It was hard to believe that I could start this program and somehow a few weeks later everything would be ready for me to run for 20 or 25 minutes without stopping. And yet, here I am, six weeks later and just done of a 25 minute run that went really well.

I LOVE having this period of 30 or 40 minutes a few times a week that is mine.  I listen to my music, bop along and have fun, the kind of thing that we likely did as kids and teenagers and took for granted. Now I finish my "ME" time and come home feeling great and like I escaped the world for awhile.

If you are looking for some sort of exercise program that doesn't take a big commitment, try this. Thirty minutes three times a week...you just might be surprised at what you can do!