Another Day - Another Mile

Went out again today.  Did pretty good but a few more things
came back to me from my past life as a runner.  Trash Day !!!  You
move pretty fast to get away from the smell and the scrappers
who canvas the neighborhood looking for scrap metal.  Also,
it was very, very humid today.  I live in the Midwest, where
it is not supposed to be 90 degrees in September.  I called
my sister in Florida to tell her how hot it was here and
she told me how cold it was getting there and it turns
out it was the same temperature!!  It's all in how you
look at it, but most of life is that way.

I'm baaaack!!

Okay, when I got up this morning, the excuses started - too cloudy, might rain,
I got up too late (?), maybe tomorrow.  Instead I suited up and out I went.  I
walked to a less busy street and began to jog slowly.  I felt pretty good and
I remembered that the road passes by a lot faster the faster your
feet move.  I did the usual mental game of running to a certain
landmark and then walking for awhile.  I did
this three times in a mile (I know, big deal) and am ready for more.  I also
knew that I was really back when I swallowed a bug - I had forgotten
about that part and I'm sure more will come back to me but for now I
am pumped and going to clean my house while I'm already sweaty.

Ready to Run - I remember the excuses

The goal has been made, written about, considered a lot and now it is
time to get moving!! Of course, a few things came up, like life itself.
I did walk today for a couple of miles and had excuses for not being
able to run, went to the dentist, etc.  Tomorrow is the big day when
I leave the house (early, in the dark) and see how much of a mile I
can run - hope I am back in time to blog about it during daylight!!

The Beginning

I started running after I quit smoking quite a few years ago.  I had the normal
goals of entering a 5K race and hoping that I wouldn't be last.  Because I
live near Flint Michigan, a popular goal here is to run in the Crim Festival
of Races that is held in August.  The main event is a 10 mile run with lots
of hills.  I entered it, hated it, loved it and ran it over and over.  Along the
way I was bitten by the marathon bug and ran three of them.  They are
great but the training takes a lot, I mean a lot, of time and dedication.
I also began to get a lot of injuries the more miles that I ran.  I was
never very fast, usually in the middle-of-the-pack, but a part of
my self-image was wrapped up in being a runner.

After a stress fracture in my foot left me sidelined for awhile, it was
very hard to get running again.  Of course, I still ate like I was a
marathon runner and the pounds began to pile on.  Then it is even
harder to gather the energy and discipline to run.  So I walked,
I walked with friends and in the neighborhood and told myself
that it was fine.  I wasn't getting injured, I was older and didn't
need all of that sweating to make me happy.  But a tiny part of
my heart still wants to run.  So as I sat at the Crim expo this year
I began to dream of running and doing a blog about it.  You'll need
to cheer me on because it will be hard, but I feel so excited about
the challenge (not too much excites me these days) and am looking
forward to sharing this with everyone.  Will write again soon........