Come Run The Hidden Pine Trails Of The Forest

I was on vacation last week for Thanksgiving.  My family has gone camping the week of Thanksgiving since 1962.  Wait a minute.  Whoa.  That’s 50 years.  I’m going to let that sink in for a minute. 

It’s nice to sit in a camp chair and know my hips don’t exceed the sides of it.  J

It also helps that the chair has an hourglass shape built right in. I know, I know – I don’t have an hourglass shape yet, but a girl can dream, right?

Okay, back to my blog.  I wasn’t about to blow off running just because I was on vacation, so Monday morning I laced up my shoes, left camp, and ran for 55 minutes, keeping up my schedule of 5 minutes longer each time two days a week.  I ran 4.4 miles at a pace of 12:36, a minute faster per mile than I‘ve been running!  Woohoo!  Thank You, God, for giving me the ability and the desire to run that far! 

On Wednesday I did an exercise DVD with my cousin.  We exercised our bodies and entertained our teenage daughters.  J  For a  minute we were afraid they were going to put pictures or videos of us on Facebook or YouTube.  (Thank you for not doing that, Brianne and Katie!) 

On Friday it was time to run again and it was time to do 60 minutes.  A whole hour of running.  A milestone.  I also wanted to run on a trail since we were in the woods, so I went to Manatee Springs State Park, very near our camp.  I was armed with my MP3 player for music, my heart rate monitor watch,

 

and my phone just in case I needed it.  I walked a little bit to the first trailhead to warm up, started the music, and began running.  About 30 seconds into it I realized that instead of listening to music I needed to concentrate on not twisting my ankle and falling, so I stopped and put that away.  I started again and just ran.  The trails weren’t marked for distance so I have no idea how far I went.  I know I ran some trails twice and looking at the map now I think I may have missed some.  Oh well.  The objective was to run for 60 minutes straight and I did that.

I ran under a fallen tree. 

 

I ran on sand trails/roads.   

 

Sometimes the trail ended with no warning, but I kept running. Do you see a trail here? 

 

Me neither, but do you think that kept me from running?  Nope! 

 

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

It's a little bit hard to see, but there's a trail that goes off to the left in that picture.  That's the way I went. 

Trail running is different from road running.  On the trail I can’t get the speed I have on the road, but the dirt/sand is easier on my joints.  In trail running I need to concentrate on not falling so it works my mind and body in a different way than road running.  I really enjoyed going off the trail and want to do more running like that.  I know of two parks where I can – Sawgrass Lake and Weedon Island.  Trails, here I come!

Finally I had been running for one hour straight!  I stopped my watch at exactly one hour! 

 

Whew!

 

I walked to the spring and took my shoes off.  I waded up to my knees in the icy water to help any inflammation the run may have caused.  Up to my knees was all I could stand and even that was hard to get used to.  I don’t like cold water! 

So I hit a milestone a few days ago.  One whole hour of running!  I'm well on my way to running the entire 10K in a couple weeks!

Two Days In A Row of 10,000+ Steps!

Two days in a row I’ve walked more than 10,000 steps!  Having this pedometer is fun, except when it gets reset without me knowing, like if I take a nap and forget to take it off or when apparently holding my niece resets it. 

I had to go to the bank sometime today so instead of walking/running around my neighborhood on my usual route and then trying to coordinate schedules to borrow my mom’s car to go to the bank, I decided to just walk/run to the bank.  It’s a little bit farther than my usual distance, but that’s okay.  J  I set out just after 6:30 a.m. but could’ve gone a few minutes earlier.  I was a little self-conscious about running next to traffic because I’m kind of starting over and am not too concerned with form right now, just with getting back to running the whole distance.  I overcame that self-consciousness and just did it.  No one pulled over to tell me I wasn’t running properly or to ask why I had slowed to a walk, so it was okay! 

I ended up doing a total of 4.6 miles in 52 minutes, running some and walking some.  My knee made me walk just a couple times.  The rest of the times I walked it was because my mind was slowing me down.  I had to go back to setting goals for myself like, “Keep running until you get to the next cross street; then you can walk.”  I did that many times.  One time I did it and when I got to the cross street I knew I needed to keep running.  There was no physical reason to stop. 

It was so rewarding to put a practical purpose to my exercise! 

In other news, a blogger I follow posted this question on Facebook:

Why do we struggle with food?

She had been talking about this with her counselor and is planning to do a blog post on it, but wanted her readers’ input.  I read a dozen or so responses and almost all of them talked about overeating or unhealthful eating being learned behavior [blame your parents] or lack of self-control.  They were so hopeless!  I had to answer with the hope God has given me in overcoming the sin of overeating.  Here’s my response:

“For me, it's plain and simple indulgence.  I like the taste of food.  I wasn't trusting God to give me what I need when I need it; I was getting it for myself...and lots of it.  Sometimes when working late at night I knew I needed to sleep but I couldn't; I had to keep working.  So I ate food for energy to stay awake.  A bowl of white rice with butter wasn't the best choice, though.  Now that I've learned self-control by denying myself what my body doesn't need, life is so much better.  I still like food, and I still have a little chocolate most days.  Food isn't what consumes me anymore, though.  It's fuel for my body.  Period.  If I can make it taste good AND be healthful, so much the better.  If I have to just eat and move on with my day, no big deal.  Food is no big deal anymore.  It's no big deal!!!  If my current size 16 body had said that to my old size 26 body, it wouldn't have believed it, but it's true!  I love this freedom!”

One person wrote after me that she wished she could just learn to put Jesus in place of food so she wouldn’t have these problems.  I clicked through to her blog and left a comment inviting her to view my blog or email me.  I hope she contacts me so I can share with her what Jesus has done for me!

I Feel Thin When I Run

As I was running this morning…yes, RUNNING!...I realized something.  Beyond the fact that I’ve missed it the last several months and that I enjoy doing it, I realized that when I run I don’t feel fat.  Obese and morbidly obese people can walk for normal daily activities usually and sometimes even for exercise.  When I started walking seriously three years ago I was considered super obese.  (Not that I put much stock in the BMI chart, thanks to my friend and trainer, Brandice at www.fitnessinfusiononline.com)  I ran two 5Ks when my weight was in the obese category.  I’m still in that category and have 38 more pounds to lose before I'll be considered just overweight and not obese.  (Please don’t do the math.)  I know I don’t look like a fitness model when I’m running, but I feel thin. 



I feel like a normal person.  Let’s not analyze too deeply what I’m saying.  I’m not saying that fat people are abnormal, just that I feel like I have no restrictions.  I feel thin when I run, like I can do what average-size people can do.  It’s been a v-e-r-y long time since I could say that.  That’s all. 

Man, it's hot out there!

Just as my daughter and I were leaving for exercise class this morning she got a call that it was canceled due to lightning.  Oh.  Okay.  Now I can finish my work from yesterday and it won't be as late as it would've been if I'd let it wait until we got back from class.  When work was done and turned in, about 9:30, I decided to do my run since we didn't have class.  It's BRUTALLY HOT out there.  It's bad enough to jog at 6:30 in the morning but 9:30 is just ridiculous!  Yogi Berra used to say that 90% of the game is 50% mental.  Yeah.  Think about it.  What he meant was that football or jogging or anything physical isn't just physical.  It's also mental.  Boy, I found that out today.  This week I'm jogging 2 sections plus 100 steps.  One week I do an ABA pattern (mile 1, then mile 2 is turned 90 degrees, then mile 1 again).  The next week I do a BAB pattern just to keep my mind fresh.  I like routine but not ruts.  A little change is a good thing.  This morning, though, I was really battling my mind that thought I was crazy for jogging in the heat and humidity.  I wanted to stop like I haven't wanted to in months!  After one section I thought I was supposed to turn but I was really supposed to go straight.  It took only about 15 seconds to figure it out in my head, but...man, it was BRUTALLY HOT out there!  I had to make myself do at least this section.  If I wanted to quit after that, fine, but I had to try.  And the next section.  And 100 more steps. 

After about half a mile of that, I did stop.  I went 2 miles total.  And that's okay.  Tomorrow is another day.  At least I did 2.  That's more than if I'd not gone at all.

Letter from my body to me

Dear Michele,

Thank you for all you've done to get me healthier these past two years.  Even though I protest some when you deny me so much food and when you exercise, I really do appreciate it.  Really.  Keep it up! 

I do have a concern, however.  When you deny me food for 24 hours it's going to take longer for me to recover than the time you gave me today.  I know you gave me some food twice today, but then you went and swam a crazy long distance.  Twice!  Honey, I'm a 41-year-old body and you didn't push me this hard when I was 21!  Take it easy, woman! 

Now get off the computer and let me rest so I can work for you in exercise class tomorrow morning, okay? 

Thank you,

Your body

Competitive?

I never thought I was competitive.  I never was on a sports team growing up, and when playing board games I don't mind if other people win.  When my daughter was younger, I had to stop the Punch Buggy game because if someone else saw one before she did, she'd get furious!  The game wasn't worth her attitude. 

At exercise class this morning, though, as we were running around the cones for warmup, I happened to start out ahead of everyone.  It wasn't like we were all together at the beginning, I just started first.  On the last leg the second time around, I heard footsteps behind me and realized it was my daughter.  I said, "Don't even think about it, little girl!"  But she thought about it.  She pulled ahead and finished just before me. 

Hmmmm...maybe there is some competitive spirit inside me.  We'll see at my first 5K.