First Run Outside

Yesterday morning the sun was shining, the snow was almost all of the way melted, and I just didn't feel like driving out to the place I normally run.  I decided to be brave, bundle up, and attempt my first run outdoors.  I jumped in my car to map out my course so I knew the distance I needed to run.  Once I had that decided, I began.  It was different being outside and running in my neighborhood.  When running inside, I had certain milestones I would pass and could gauge my pace.  When running outside, I didn't have those.  I still really liked being outside, and I am hoping the Indiana weather has decided to continue to get warm and stay warm so I can do this more!  So, below is my surprising results:

 

 

Why are my results surprising to me?  I think they were actually more disappointing then surprising.  I thought for sure my pace would be better since this is the fifth week of my training.  When I calculated and saw that it was my worst pace yet, I was disappointed.  I started dwelling on that disappointment and becoming discouraged.  Why?  Why would I do that when I have been working so hard?  I have been having amazing results, and I still get disappointed in myself. 

 

I was still feeling down about my results when I went to the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network Indianapolis Affiliate meeting Saturday.  I am still amazed how God uses other people and places them in my life to say something exactly when I need it.  The first person was Randi who mentioned to me that she had read my blog, and that was huge for me because she is someone that enjoys running and has trained for the Mini in Indy.  The second one was Stacy.  I had a nice conversation with her about making lifestyle changes.  She was very positive and uplifting...exactly what I needed at the time.  I am not even sure that these two ladies knew how helpful they were being to me at the time, but wow, did it ever help put me back in a more positive mindset. 

 

I saw this and thought it pretty much summed up my day yesterday:  

 

 

This morning I weighed in, and I lost another 4.4 pounds this week!  I am very excited about this, but Weight Watchers is not so excited.  I keep getting alerts that I am losing weight too quickly.  The thing is, I am following the plan, and I am working out.  I have a lot of weight to lose so is it really a bad thing that I lost 12 pounds in three weeks? 

 

Tomorrow begins my sixth week of training with 25 seconds running, and 35 seconds walking all week.  Saturday will be a 4.5 mile run/walk.  Whew!  I have some work to do this week!