Post C25k Run = SUCCESS

There was snow forecast for my city this past Saturday. Which is hardly a big deal. It is February after all. And it is Northern Utah after all. But we have had such a beautiful and unseasonably warm winter so far. I don't think we've seen snow at all since New Years. And Saturday has become my day to run outside. When I saw snow forecast for the morning hours during which I would most likely be taking my run… I wanted to cry.

Luckily, the snow held off until later that day. It was a bit chillier than it has been… but otherwise, beautiful. So, I bundled up for my first post- C25k run.  Everybody I asked had different ideas, but the general consensus was that since my ultimate goal is distance… then it might not be a bad idea to spend a little bit of time upping my distance before I did the 10K plan. So, I set out on Saturday to run… but with no program. No real plan for what to do except just go longer than the 30 minutes. And that's what I did. I kept going for the full 30 minutes. Then I kept going. And I kept going for as long as I could. I wasn't trying to be a hero. I wasn't trying to prove anything to anybody. Even to myself. And I was careful to pay attention to how I was feeling so I didn't push myself too far too soon. But without a plan… I just kept going. The fact that I was on a (very slight) downhill stretch for the last 10 minutes or so probably helped immensely. But I went for about 40 minutes, I'm guessing. I probably could have gone longer, but I came upon a huge hill. I tried jogging up it… but I think I only lasted 15 seconds before I slowed down to a walk. I'm not sure of the exact distance. But I'm guessing it was about 2.9 miles before I stopped. I was very satisfied with that for the first run post C25k.

But what thrilled me even more is that I found myself enjoying it. That downhill stretch at the end probably had something to do with that… but I was loving it and I was feeling good rather than constantly wondering when it was going to be over. And that's what I've been waiting for all this time was to get to the point where I loved it. I was excited when I realized that the possibility of snow made me want to cry… simply because it would have moved my run to the treadmill. That was huge for me to realize how much I preferred being outside. It made me feel more like a real runner. Then when I was was able to just keep going and not be counting the minutes until it was over, that was even more exciting. And when I realized that I was actually enjoying it… and not having to focus solely on putting one foot in front of the other… that was a breakthrough. Because that is what I've been wanting out of running. I wanted to learn to love it.

And now I'm excited for next Saturday when I can get outside and run again. I'll change up my route just slightly to avoid that huge hill and see if I can make it the full 3.1 miles. I am loving the idea of being a runner.