Running - Training Day 8

Well, well, well... today felt much more like a success. Perhaps this every other day thing will work out after all.

Today was the second day of week three, where, after a 5 minute walk to warm up, I run for 90 seconds, walk for 90 seconds, then run for 3 minutes, then walk for 3 minutes, then repeat. Today, I am happy to report that I did not spit while I was breathing (although I was breathing just as hard), and I did not cry when I finished the three minutes!!!

YEA, JENNY!!!!

Also, I was able to at least pretend to converse a little bit with my running buddy, although she was really the only one talking and I was just grunting out sounds that sounded roughly like "Oh... wow... uh-huh..." and so on. I also noticed that I recovered faster. On Monday, after running the 90 seconds, I was just barely recovering by the time the 90 seconds of walking was over and I had to start running again. Today, I recovered with about 20 seconds to spare.

It is significant to note that yesterday, I got approximately 4.5 hours of sleep, and was fully awake by 3pm (the equivalent of you waking up at 3am even though you don't have to be at work til 7am). Needless to say, I was exhausted, and I seriously wondered whether I would have the energy to run at all. Also, I just got home from working a busy 12 hour shift at the hospital... again, my reserves were just about depleted, and I REALLY needed to just go home and sleep. And to top it all off, ever since that first 3 minute run on Monday, I somehow damaged my right foot. It feels like the ball of that foot is bruised, and I've had to keep walking on it every night at work.

But in spite of three valid reasons not to run today, I pushed through, and I did it anyway. The moral of this story? We all have plenty of things that keep us busy, and plenty of reasons why running or working out is simply not convenient for us, and most of the time, the reasons are valid reasons. But at the end of the day, fitness and health is as simple as making the choice to do it anyway. What things are holding you back from being healthy today? Let me encourage you to follow my example, and even though you may have plenty of valid reasons why exercise doesn't fit in your schedule today, make it fit anyway. Your body, and your heart, will thank you!