Friday, April 20, 2012

Dusting off the running shoes.



For those of you who read the post about my midlife crisis yesterday, you know that I have started running again. By running I really mean jogging, slowly.






I used to consider myself a runner, but in all honestly I was never much of an athlete. I jogged 3-5 miles a day, never less, rarely more. I just wanted to keep fit. I never participated in races or pushed myself too hard, but running was a part of my daily life. It was part of who I was. Until it wasn't anymore. After Zachary, I got back into running fairly quickly, and was in the best shape of my life. My husband and I would take the baby in the stroller and run together. With the extra load, my husband was more at my speed and we would take 5-8 mile runs side by side on a regular basis. After Evan, however, time became tighter, life became crazier and as a result, I ran less frequently. After Julian, well forget about it. I had a lot of reasons not to exercise, time, exhaustion, etc.






I realized recently that I missed it. Since I was a teenager, running was something that I have always done, it was part of me. It was time to myself, time to think, get the blood moving and to feel alive. I have decided that it was time to strap on my rusty running shoes again and get moving.






It isn't easy. I'm less than two weeks into it, but I have been fairly diligent. Over the past twelve days I have gone out seven times. It has felt good. It has felt like me, except that while running three miles used to be routine, I now find myself red faced and sore after a short run. It is actually a bit embarrassing, running around Lake Merritt, getting passed constantly as I chug along at a snails pace, sweating. Today was probably one of my low points. It was warm, and I was slow. I jogged passed someone I knew and felt ashamed to be seen in such a sorry state.






But I'm not going to give up. In a few months I'll look back on where I was today (and this red-faced photograph) and feel a sense of accomplishment. I'm getting back into shape. I'm getting this part of me back.






Here we go.... cheerleading welcome.



11 comments:

  1. It is totally NOT about the pace. It is about doing something for YOU that makes you feel GOOD. Keep doing what you're doing and enjoy it :) YAY!!!!

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  2. YES! Girl after my own heart. Just gotta do it, and you will feel good. :) Really impressed you would run 5-8 miles, even if it was a while ago. I run about 3 every day and never more. But it's all I have time for!!!!

    Keep it up, mama! :)

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  3. Woo hoo!!!! Go you!!!

    By the way, I read your previous post and it could have been about me. Seriously- are you stalking me? Our lives are quite parallel! :) I ran in high school, and I've been doing it once a week since moving here. Not much running, but enough to get in a mile or two (bad knees). It feels good to run, doesn't it? I almost feel like I'm on my high school track team again, and being someone who is just starting to have mid-life crisis thoughts, that's a good thing, ha.

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  4. Rah rah rah! Shish boom. . . okay I can't do that.

    Go running!

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  5. No matter what pace you run at...it is lightning fast compared to sitting on the couch!

    You go, girl!!

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  6. good for you! I used to run (well, jog) in my college days, but the older I get the less I seem to get out for a run.

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  7. Absolutely cheering you on! Remember, you are lapping folks like me who haven't left the couch yet!! :-) I sort of jog about a mile or so on the treadmill but I mostly love to walk. Either way, You feel great afterwards and have a toned body to show for it. You go girl==enjoy your runs and time for yourself--it keeps you happy!

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  8. Good job! And look what I saw on Etsy:
    http://etsyitemoftheday.com/i-love-running-necklace/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+EtsyItemOfTheDay+%28Etsy+Item+of+the+Day%29

    So cute - a little foot with a heart on it (love running)

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  9. Run Rachel Run!! You go girl!

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  10. Run, Mommy, RUN! I, too, used to be a runner. And then -- kids? Life? Somehow I couldn't figure out how to juggle my time so I could make it a priority. SO proud of you!!!

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