So I Ran

In the last year and a half I have not done much exercise. Meaning none. I did do my prenatal yoga twice last year, but that's about it. Taking care of small children all day should count as some exercise though, right? I've even moved furniture around occasionally. But real, get your heart pumping and lungs working exercise has been mostly non-existent for the last 1.5 years. If you recall, I ran a 5k in September 2007. That was seriously the last real exercise I did. It got cold soon after the 5k and then I got pregnant and so I haven't been running since then.

The last week I've been feeling pretty down about my pudgy belly and just anxious to start running again, but the weather up until recently hasn't been good enough. This last week was wonderful though. I wanted to go out so bad, but usually by the time Hubby got home it was getting dark so I hadn't had a chance to enjoy the warmer weather.

Yesterday was a long day. I was feeling emotionally drained from worrying and crying about my friend, the kids were being naughty on top of the colds they had, Little D was especially fussy from being sick, and I was feeling very unattractive because my psoriasis has gotten so bad and I swear I've gotten more fat on my tummy this last week (no, it wouldn't have anything to do with the small pan of brownies I ate in 2 days lol). The weather was a little chilly and windy so I didn't think I'd go out running.

Soon after Hubby got home from work, though, I decided I needed to get out of the house and get my mind off everything. I handed him the baby, changed into exercise pants, slipped on my battered running shoes, stretched a few minutes, and headed out the door. I hadn't even gotten dinner started and it was already 6pm with the sun getting lower, but I just had to go.

I wasn't sure how far I'd go. Maybe just down to the light and back, or maybe I'd turn and go around a few blocks, I wasn't sure. I started off with a few minutes of walking, then I started my run. It felt good to get my muscles working. My right ankle was bugging me a little but after a few minutes I didn't notice it anymore. I got down to the street light (about 1/4 mile) and decided instead of just turning around I felt good and I'd go up a block and circle around. I made it another 1/4 mile before I started feeling winded, but pushed myself just a bit more. I ended up running about 3/4 mile before I had to stop.

My neck has been out for a while now and the running jostled my head more, causing me to get an awful headache, I almost fell over from the pain. Plus the cold was adding to the headache (when my ears get cold I get bad headaches, next time I'll wear a hat). So I walked the rest of the way home, another 1/4 mile. But if my head hadn't been hurting so much I'm sure I could have kept running the full mile.

I am very happy I was able to run so much since it's been so long. I still have a long way to go if I plan to run a 5k in June and 10k in September with Michelle, but it's a start. The weather today is too cold (snow again! grr) but hopefully we'll get some warmer days soon so I can get out more.