40:32

I had never ran a mile straight without walking until after high school.

I know this had to baffle and frustrate my coaches at the time.  I simply hated running.  I would always get all freaked out in my head.  I hated the feeling of loosing control of my own breathing.  It was terrible and was one of my deciding factors not to play volleyball when given the chance on the college level.  

My entire world is different now.  Post high school.  Post college. And now with a toddler in my world.

Time literally slips a way from me.  Some days, and hour feels like 15 minutes. 

But I found a way to slow down time.  Go for a run.  To be perfectly honest, it still isn't my activity of choice.  I would much prefer to do a kickboxing class or play some hoops.  But running is just something different.

I was introduced to running shortly after Haley was born.  A group of girls really showed me how much my body is capable of if I could put my mind and emotions to the side.  After that, it was like a switch was flipped in me.

I am still not a great runner.  I can do it.  But my pace is SLOW.  Which is ridiculous because my legs are a 1/3rd longer then the average humans.  That alone give me a pace advantage.  As embarrassing as it is, I will just put it out there, on long distance runs, my pace is usually 15 minute miles.  Anyone can go out and WALK 15 minute miles.  And supposedly you burn the same amount of calories if your walking or jogging at the same pace.   But still, I jog it, because it is a starting point and helps me battle the mental portion of running.

My cousin turned me on to some interval training that I have been working on to help my pace.  And it is helping for sure.  Yesterday I ran a 5k in 40:32 and I didn't feel like I pushed myself as hard as I could of.   I understand this pace is still terrible.  BUT it is an accomplishment for me.  My goal for my first 5K was going to be to finish it with a number that started with 3-:--.  But I am not worrying about time on this one because it is just for fun and with a girlfriend of mine.  I mostly just want to get a feel for what a race is like.  What to expect.  Then from there, I think I am going to go a head and find another 5K to push  myself in.  I think a good goal for myself is 3 miles in 35 minutes.  Baby steps.  I would eventually like to average close to a 10 minute mile, but I think 35 minutes is a good place to strive to be for now.

While I was writing this, I was doing some research, because I was curious if my height gave me any advantage as far as running goes (but I figured it did) but turns out it doesn't  (yay just another excuse I can give myself..not a good thing).

Distance running is different. Tall people naturally have longer strides, but stride length, it turns out, does not determine speed. Running requires that you lift your body off the ground with each step, propelling yourself forward. The more you weigh, the harder you have to work to lift your body and the slower you will be. 

The best runners are small and light, with slim legs. “If you have large legs, you have to move a big load,” Dr. Secher said. “The smaller you are, the better you are.”

(Kolata, TIMES)

So there you have it.  My excuse for hating running is that I am tall and have thick legs.  Thank you genetics. No but seriously, I don't plan on holding on to that excuse much.  When you are talking world records, it could probably be something to overcome but it doesn't give me an excuse not to average a 10-12 minute mile at the very least.

Oh well.  So 40:32--it's an improvement and a small accomplishment for myself.

Besides being frustrated with my lack of running skills, I am frustrated with myself.  I have begun yo-yoing again.  I have continued to flirt with my pre-preggers weight a year after gaining 70lbs during my pregnancy.  I generally do okay during the week, then I un-do all my efforts on the weekends or at outings.  And when you are fighting those last few lbss, it makes a difference.  So the last few weeks I have been gaining and loosing the same 5lbs. It comes down to grit.  I need to just do the dang thing and stop the yo-yoing and frustrating myself.  I know it sounds petty, but seriously, when people witness my binges on the weekend they usually chuckle and raise an eye-brow at the amount of crap I am consuming.  So enough is enough, I need to stick to being healthy on all days, not just Monday thru Thursday.  By the time Friday rolls around, I am already telling myself I will "get back on track" by Monday morning.

I know it sounds really vain and awful, but I know there will be a day that I can't simply turn around and loose those pounds so easily.