I watched the sky today. I watched the clouds gather, the sun peek through, the drops fall little by little. By the time I headed out to pick up my daughter from school I needed an umbrella. Rain. RAIN. Have I mentioned how much I love running in the rain??
My husband sneaked this picture of me from his office window as I took off. One time around my block is exactly a mile, stepping from my driveway and back to it. It makes for some pretty simple measurement. So off I flew around the block, looking to endure, to train for my rad race.
I made the entire mile without stopping in 11:15. I sat down on my porch, heaved steam into the rainy air, then headed back out for another mile. That one I ran about halfway before I decided that I didn’t want to be stupid and earn another injury. But 11:15? Yes, it is slow still, but those kinds of numbers are just a small shift away from running a 30 minute 5K.
Funny thing about that though, I’m getting faster. Without trying, my body is leaning into the run, picking up the pace. Today I practiced lengthening my stride. I felt like the BFG as I gal-umpfed my long-legged strides down the street. I am learning that speed doesn’t necessarily mean taking more steps faster, for me it might just mean instilling the habit of taking longer steps. My 5’9″ height should give me a bit of an advantage there.
***
I don’t have a specific method of telling my readership about weight goals made, but this morning I had a significant and emotional shift.
I hopped on the scale just like I do every morning after I pee. The numbers flickered between 240 to 252. it stopped. Then I hopped off. That couldn’t be right. Then I hopped back on. No way. I weighed 250 last night. I didn’t pee that much! And off again, a shift of the scale, then on again. I whispered to my still-sleeping husband, “I weigh 246 this morning.” For some reason that number has weight and significance to me. Before I got too noisy, I rushed into my closet and closed it before I started sobbing. Someone I know hit 245 not so long ago and I was like, wow. She looks tiny. Delicate. Petite, almost, compared to the heavier version of herself. I was amazed. So to be at this point that I admired so deeply in this woman I respect so much seems overwhelming in a way. Don’t worry. I dried my tears and stopped my sobs in no time and was able to move on with my morning. But yeah, 246. Big fat deal. Seriously.