Under Pressure

Hello! Sorry I've been MIA all week. I have no excuse, work is just really busy and yadda yadda yadda. I did start my weekly half marathon training though, and I lost 2 lbs this week! So that's a good start. The training is going really well, and although I'm one of the slowest people in the group, it's okay because I'm doing it, and that's what matters.

This morning we ran five miles. Actually, I think that's the longest I've ever run in my entire life. All this working out, and I've never run that far. Wow. So it was tough, and I was definitely struggling by the end up the last hill, but compared to last Saturday, I was a super star. So that feels good.

I've been reading a lot about nutrition and what not for longer distance running and I've decided that this may not be conducive to my desire to lose weight. I know a lot of runners have a tendency to over compensate for the calories they burn during their runs, and I have a feeling I might be one of those people. Just because I burned almost 1000 calories today doesn't mean I have license to go eat anything I want.

So I'm going to have to work on that. I'm going to have to increase quantity slightly to keep up with training, but it needs to be good stuff. No ice cream! Okay maybe sometimes.

It's weird how my insecurities really come pouring out when I'm running, but then suddenly, whether it's halfway through or when I'm finished, I feel so incredible and confident. I swear on the drive home this morning, I was crazy. Maybe my brain didn't have enough glucose or something, but I was trying to do the math and figure out how fast I was running (I didn't stop my watch right after we finished, but I think about 12 minute miles, maybe 12:30). Anyway, so I was trying to figure out the math, and before I knew it, I had driven probably 6 miles. It's like my mind goes to this far away place after a run, and all of my cares just fly away. And I can focus on silly math instead of worrying about my job or my weight or my house or all of those other things.

I learned I should probably pay more attention when I'm driving home, but I also learned that running is really great therapy for me. Life seems okay after a run. Like all is good and right with the world.

Don't ya just love exercise. I think this commercial explains it nicely.



I'm off to H0me Dep0t, lunch, then a nice nap. Hope you all have a great weekend!