C25K

the running shoes my mom got me for Christmas - copyright © 2013 Mandy Ross

How are all of you doing with your New Year's goals? I am still writing every day; even if it's just a little bit. I am also still doing my running; even if it's freezing outside! Oh, I didn't mention the running in my last post? Oh, that's right, my last post was about writing, not running.

I'm doing C25K with the help of the C25K free app for my phone. It breaks it down into sections, tells me when to run and lets me know when I'm halfway done. Very useful for me. I also used the RunKeeper app on my recent run to see how far I ran and how fast I ran. It was a little strange having two different voices talking to me, but I'm sure I'll get used to it. Well, make that 3 voices talking to me, my 6yo runs with me. She likes to run and wants to be a better runner, so she joins me on my runs.

It's kinda nice not having to go out by myself and I have someone to talk to. I get to catch up on what's going on in her life. The first grade is very interesting. We don't often get to spend much one-on-one time together anymore. So, it's nice. I think she likes it too. Being the middle child is tough on her, she often feels like it's not fair that her older brother gets to do something and she doesn't because she's too little. Or her younger sister gets to do something, but she doesn't because she's too big. It's a tough spot to be in. And it's only going to get worse.

One thing I learned from my most recent run, I do not like running in the cold. My lungs burn, my thighs freeze, my nose runs and it's hard to carry on a conversation. I don't feel bad that I cut my run short by 10 minutes; at least I got out there and started running in the first place. We managed to run/walk 1.76km. I have to keep the positive self-talk up; no one else around here is very supportive, aside from the 6 year old. My husband was surprised I stuck with it for a whole week.

So, why am I running? Oh, that's easy, to get healthy, to be more active and to prove to myself that I can do something. I've set a goal. I'm hoping to do a 5k in April. I could go ahead and register for it now, but what if I give up next week? Better to wait a bit. I'm sure if the 5k I'm shooting for fills up, there will be another one around the same time. If there's one thing people in this area love, it's 5ks. They hold them all the time for a variety of different causes. I'm sure I'll be ready and able to make one of them this year. I'm still training for the April one though; that's my goal.

Here's hoping we all meet our goals this year! (Or get really close.)