running

Happy Monday! I just got back from a week of vacation and so rolling out of bed this morning was not easy. I had a wonderfully relaxing time. Sleeping, eating, floating on the lake, waterskiing, playing with my niece and nephew, having good conversations with family, meeting new people, time with my hubby, and getting upgraded to First Class on my flight home. All good. All fun. All on vacation. One of the things I loved were my runs while away. I have been thinking about running a 1/2 marathon. Currently I am running 6-8 miles a day. On the treadmill. While reading. It makes me a bit apprehensive when I have no choice but to run outside. What will it be like? Will I be able to handle just listening to music, and not reading while I run? I was happily surprised this time. I never stopped. I never got tired. I ran mostly 7 miles a day, with hills, 90 degree temperatures plus humidity.

view from my run

view from run #2

What made me do it? My Nike+ app. The Nike+ app lets you listen to music while running, tracks your run, and talks to you when you hit each mile marker. I know. I know. It is a simple thing an app can do. I just have never used it. It changed my run. The app told me how fast I was going and how far I had gone and knowing that pushed me to run harder and faster. Last summer without the app, I found I would randomly walk, or feel tired. This time having the ability to compete against myself meant I ran better. Thank you, Nike.

baby turtle run day 1

medium-sized turtle day #6

These are the turtles I found in the middle of the road during my run. On my second loop they were not to be found and no smooshed turtle either, so they had crossed the road unharmed. So grateful for my runs, my view, my music, and my Nike+ app!

Have a great week!

Happy Friday! What do you do each day to get exercise? Do you sit in cubicle hell all day, or do you have the ability to move around, stretch, and have an active day?

I spent most of my life NOT running. Now I cannot seem to get enough of it. I want to go everyday and usually I do not want to stop when I need to due to other obligations, or because I am wiped out. I crave it. I often think about what would happen if I had been enamored with running earlier in life. Why did it take me so many years? Did I think I would not be good enough? Did I think it would be too exhausting? I cannot remember, all I know now is that I cannot imagine my life without running in it.

It is not that I did not have encouragement. A very close friend from college ran daily, often winning races and hiding the trophies in the back of her closet. She was a badass (and still is) but never wanted to talk about her race wins. She would often come back to our room for a quick shower before dinner completely caked in mud and gloriously happy. What did she already understand that took me years to wrap my arms around?

The key for me is the euphoria I feel when I finish a run. I feel pushed and stretched. I feel like I am being responsible for my health and taking care of myself. I feel like I have had an hour to myself. I feel content. While my husband would prefer to not smell the stench of my running clothes hanging in the bathroom, he obliges because he knows how happy it makes me. The stench = hard work, dedication, accomplishment = happiness.

Do you have a daily exercise routine that makes your day balanced?