Inspiration

With a great deal of schoolwork and papers due these past two weeks, I’ve had to take a little hiatus from running/walking. I definitely missed it though, and the very fact that I wanted to get out and exercise was great. This means my lifestyle is slowly but surely changing to where fitness has become a much higher priority and it’s become something I enjoy, which I never used to say about any kind of exercise.

Yesterday morning and evening I got back into the swing of things. In fact, I logged enough miles so that I eventually completed a 10K. :) Bobby and I went out around 11am to complete what we call our 5K Home Loop, which is a distance a little more than a 5K that we do around our condo complex, a few side streets, and then looping back home. According to Aragorn (that’s what I’ve named my Garmin…), I did 3.42 miles in 55 minutes at an average pace of 16:07 per mile. Obviously we weren’t out to set any land speed records, but Bobby had done a 7-mile run on Friday and had a 10-mile run on schedule for today (Sunday) so he understandably wanted to take it easy yesterday. Even though it wasn’t very fast, I was still breathing a little harder since I hadn’t been out in awhile. We also faced a serious wind at about 20mph, gusting to about 30mph.

Anyway, Bobby and I had a lot of fun, just walking and talking and spending time together – have I mentioned how much I love my husband? :) I also mentioned to him that I felt so much better this time compared to how I felt the last time we did this walk together (March 2nd). The differences were not slight. First of all, Bobby was up-front about the pace we would be aiming for, so I had no false assumptions about that. More importantly, by this time the school semester is coming to a close very fast and I have accumulated much more experience in terms of being an English major. At the time of the previous run I was still trying to figure everything out, all the new reading and writing requirements, getting accustomed to having to constantly write papers, etcetera. It’s all very new and different from when I was a Meteorology major, but it’s a lot more enjoyable and I’m a lot better at it! I’m still adjusting of course, but by now I’ve completed a 10-page paper and an 11-page paper for a couple of my classes in a two-week time span – I feel very euphoric, as though I can do anything now!! So needless to say, I’m in a much better state of mind. :)

After going out in the morning with Bobby, I participated in my university’s Relay for Life last night. We all watched and were inspired by the Survivor’s Lap, and then we had to have at least one member of our team walking the track at all times until the end of the event at 7am. We all took turns walking laps, and of course some people walked more than others. Luckily, I thought to bring my Garmin to keep track of my mileage (but of course I forgot to bring a hat and gloves…it was soooo cold!). Over the course of the night I did 3.35 miles according to Aragorn. That’s pretty accurate, although for the first lap I hadn’t put it on yet – so my actual total accrual would be closer to 3.60 miles. That brought my daily total to 6.77 miles, a little more than a 10K distance!! That’s pretty darn cool and made me feel proud. :) My shins are a little sore, but it’s no surprise since that’s more mileage than I’m accustomed to at this point.

One truly inspiring story to take note of: Over the course of the night my friends and I noticed two guys who were running around the track, and running very fast. They blazed past us time and again. At one point I shouted out “You want us to get you some water or something?”. They yelled back, “Thank you, but we’re good!”. And then they just kept going, never seeming to lose steam. They had started running when the event started, after opening ceremonies, so probably around 8pm-ish. At 1:20am a woman was making a few announcements over the loudspeaker, and at the end she announced: “By the way, everyone, these two guys just completed a marathon!” Oh! My! God! Wow!!! J Isn’t that just amazing?! That’s truly something to aspire to, and very in keeping with the spirit of the whole event. :)

The most inspiring story of all, though, is the wonderful family that I’m so proud to be a part of. We are all making a group effort to get in shape and keep up a healthy lifestyle, and we are all motivating each other to accomplish our goals, no matter how big or small. You see, it all started a few weeks ago when my husband and a few of my sister-in-laws went out for a run together – together in spirit at least. They all lived in various states and time zones, but they texted and called each other so that they set out together at roughly the same time. Knowing that family was running or walking with them, in a sense, made it really fun and motivational for everyone. Now this ‘family fitness relay’ has expanded…. a lot. Last weekend the movement grew to 15 participants from 7 states logging 46.18 miles in one big day. Getting all the emails from siblings, parents, cousins, aunts, spouses, etcetera, all of whom were taking part in this, no matter the distance each person covered or how long it took each person to cover it – it’s all very inspiring. This weekend has been even bigger and better, with more participants and more mileage. With Bobby and I contributing 20.15 total miles over yesterday morning and evening and today (Sunday), we did our part to add to the “running” total for the weekend. Final report: 18 participants logging 65.04 miles over Saturday the 12th and Sunday the 13th. Needless to say, as with so much else in this big family, this has now become a tradition, a weekly tradition in fact. You can keep track of us and our progress on our multi-state fitness blog (see the sidebar). Anyway, it’s quite extraordinary what we’re doing, but then again we are an extraordinary family. :)

Thanks for reading another very long post. It seems like I always have a lot to say…my professors would attest to this. :) Happy running!