RUNNING

I started running..I have tried running in the past, when I was many many MANY pounds lighter but I never could "do it". Never experienced that "runner's high" hated it actually..really HATED it! SO not sure what is different this time.
If you have known me any amount of time you know that I have always struggled with weight. I have lost weight and gained a number of times. And yes..yes I am aware that is a whole discussion of it's own. But lets just let that go for now, cause that could get ugly. For the past 6 months I have been back into an honest attempt to get healthy. These times have come and gone in my life and for those in my life, as well as for me, has been a very frustrating cycle. But, here I am and well.....Here we go again!
During my trip to the US in August/September I exercised with my daughter, I was at the time, a video girl. I have a library of exercise videos everything from Tae Bo to Biggest Looser to Yoga and was faithfully "doing" a video 4/5 days a week.
While I was at Ryan's house we hit the pavement together with Maya in the jogging stroller (quite honestly that's the seat I wished I had most days) and she encouraged me to walk some and run some. I was pitiful..REALLY. I am not good at judging distances, but I DO know it would only be mins, maybe that is singular, [minute] of running and I had to stop, walk and get ready for another minute of running. Ryan would run ahead and run back to me, how embarrassing, I mean really, HONESTLY! My ankles hurt, my shins hurt..I am confident my body was screaming at me "look what you did to me!" Convinced all this pain was caused by my shoes; not the extra pounds and totally out of shape body so, I bought a new pair of sneakers. Does the fact that the ones I had were 5 years old..give you any indication of the shape I was in. But for the record the pain did stop.. some redemption!
When I returned home to Honduras, and I was thinking about getting back to my video routine, I found myself thinking of the pavement, and it calling me outside. So I laced up my new sneakers and out I went. Because I am not free to just RUN here..safety issues UGH, I was limited to my street and began what I fondly call my "walk, run, crawl" outings. When I began I was walking much more than I was running, I could run a 1/2 a lap (a lap being up the street and back down the street) and walk 2 or 3 laps to each run. But there was something in my head that kept saying "one foot in front of the other" and I found I was enjoying it, and wanting to do better and the most shocking thing of all...LOOKING FORWARD TO THE NEXT walk, run, crawl! This HAD to be divine intervention!! Do you hear me? It had to be!! Soon after, Mark started coming with me and I LOVE THAT. We are now running partners. I just have to not let getting lapped get into my head!
Also what happened during this time was I was given an Iphone by my daughter and on it was an app called loose it. Started using it, tracking my food intake, tracking my exercise, and have to say my favorite part of this app is it gives me BACK calories when I enter my exercise..this my friends makes my heart super happy!
I left for the states again at the beginning of October and hit a big mile stone while I was gone..ran my first full mile. I was on a YMCA track and out loud did a YEAH FOR ME CHEER, complete with arms in the arm and fists pumping!! I got in the car called my husband NO answer, called my daughter NO answer, called my son NO ANSWER..REALLY??!! So I continued my private "pat yourself on the back, GOOD FOR YOU LORI CONNELL" party in the car all the way back to the farm!
I am back in Honduras, back to running my street. I am now running completely with no walking! 40 mins is my current running time and I am pretty happy about that...for now! It has been a blast connecting with other runners.. and pretending I am one of them. And soo far no one has called me out as an impostor. One day I will move from a "wanna be runner" to a real honest to goodness one! So until that time, I pray. I pray that God will keep alive in me my desire for running, build in me stamina and give me the ability to do better. Loosing weight will be a welcomed benefit to this new endeavor, but what I am really after is getting healthy. For me, for my husband, my kids, my grandchildren, my work here in Honduras, I have a lot of mountains to climb! So tomorrow I will be back out there and run for my life!