Baby Steps and Gag Orders

Joe got home last night (WOOHOO!)

Now that he's home I couldn't wait to do one thing...

I woke up early this morning and went running. ALL BY MYSELF!!! Ahhhh...

I've heard people say before that exercise is their escape. I just didn't understand that until now. But an hour of running all by myself, without four little ones underfoot, in hand, and within ear reach was the perfect release from two weeks of married single motherhood.

I did 3.5+ miles on the local high school track. I ran 2.25 miles of that and 2 of those miles without stopping! I didn't hurt. I wasn't out of breath. I even thought about going farther, but in my training I have so far to go in such a short amount of time before I'm ready for my half marathon. I can't risk injuring myself now.

I have to remember to take baby steps. 2 miles is enough for today. But 2 miles makes me feel pretty awesome nonetheless. If you had told me a couple of months ago that I was capable of running 2 miles continuously...I would have laughed in your face...or probably cried. That's more my style.

Who knew that running could be such an emotional affair?

It really is. My sister gets that. She's training for her first half marathon on September 3rd. I'm so proud of her! And I can't wait to be there when she crosses the finish line. I decided to not only be there, but BE there running my first 10K, a good baby step towards a half marathon.

It's funny how a 10K (6.2 miles) used to seem so impossible, but now that I am aiming for a half marathon (13.1 miles) it's a walk in the park.

Kind of.

Not really.

Whatever. It's all relative.

For her own reasons my sister hasn't told very many people about her upcoming race. I didn't understand why she was keeping it on the downlow. It's such an admirable goal. But after the reaction I got the other day when I told a woman that I was training for a half marathon I kind of get the secrecy.

My sister is a runner. She weighs about a hundred pounds less than me. She's a beast. And if she's worried about telling people...

When I mentioned I was training for a half to a neighbor lady, she looked me up and down and I swear her thought process went something like this: "Suuuuure you are. All 246 pounds of you."

I felt so stupid.

Note to self: Keep half marathon to self until half marathon is over.

So, I'm placing a gag order on myself and keeping my training to myself.

Oh and anyone else who reads this blog.

Whatever.