Fitness Friday - I think I'm a Runner

My favorite temperature to run in is 0 degrees Celsius, I love running in the rain and a little wind at my back always helps to push me along.

Well the stars were aligned for a great run today. I missed my Tuesday run (I always feel guilty when I miss a run), I didn't run yesterday, so as soon as my husband got home and I headed out. I checked the temperature and it was 0 degrees, excellent! I got outside, all by myself, no stroller or baby to push, got warmed up and stretched and I was off. I didn't really have a route planned out, I knew I wanted to run on the road but I didn't know how far. Since I hadn't run in almost a week I figured I'll do just a short 5k. Then I remembered oh my goodness, exactly 2 years ago today I started running! It's my mom's birthday, that's how I remember that. I was 6 weeks post-partum and was anxious to get in shape. The first time I went out, I did walk 3 min/run 1 min for 30 minutes. I remember it was so cold and dark, and there was only myself and a man on the track. Over the next 10 weeks I built up to 30 minutes of straight running. The longest run I did was 7 miles.

So thinking of my first run made me want to do more than just 5k, to sort of acknowledge how far I've come. I stopped running for a year in August last year when I got pregnant. Since I got back to running this past August, after baby #2 the longest I've run without walking is 5k and I've done run/walk for 9 miles/just over 2 hours. I'm running a 10k race December 20th so I decided it's time to run 10k straight. I kept mapping out my route in my head and once I decided, I settled into a nice pace. I was feeling really strong, really great, I knew from the get go I could run the entire 10k without needing to stop. When I hit about 4.5 miles I started to feel a bit tired, but I pushed on through. I was thinking about the race, and thinking I'd love to finish in 1 hour 15 minutes. Then it started spitting a bit, that felt nice. I had to add a bit at the end to hit 10k and then I realized, hey I can do this in 1h15min! So in the last mile I picked up the pace, it was getting close, so the last half a mile I was full out sprinting, and it started to pour really hard and then there was a bit of a wind pushing me forward, I was smiling. People must have thought I was crazy! I kept sprinting till I saw 6.21 miles on my watch (10k), I stopped at 6.22 miles and it was 1:15!!! I DID IT! I cried and smiled and said to myself "holy sh*t you did it"!

And to top it all off, when I got home, a neighbour who I hadn't seen in a while said wow you look good, every girl wants to hear that! Then after my shower, I tried on a size 14 skirt (I was a size 16 before but my pants have been really loose lately) and it fit!!! Wow what a great freaking day!

I find running to be a roller coaster. I have good days and bad, some really crappy runs where I felt weak and didn't push myself and runs where I felt so strong and pushed so hard. After an amazing run I do feel that runners high and I want to do more and I can't wait for my next run.

Today also marks the end of the first week of the 6 week challenge on EA Active More Workouts and I love it! I've told everyone about it. I love the 6 week challenge and the new activities. I was a boxing addict on Personal Trainer and I love the new boxing even more. Surprisingly I love the squash and I can't wait to start practicing to challenge Active_girl, I have to beat 95! I definitely feel EA Active has helped me with my running since I have toned so much in the two months I've had it! And when I workout it makes me want to do more exercise and keep up with my running.

I had a tough beginning to my week but it has definitely ended on a high! And now I think I can actually say "I'm a runner"!