I ran THREE MILES today!

I ran three miles today without stopping!

This came as somewhat of a surprise to me, because quite frankly week 8 of c25k has really been kicking my ass.  The last few times I've gone out to run, I have just not been able to push myself to keep up a good pace or finish the run...

Today I woke up and honestly didn't even really want to get dressed and go to the park.  I felt icky.  My tummy was blech.  I was not breathing well.  I felt like I really haven't been making progress at all, and in fact I was afraid I was regressing and might have to go back a few weeks if I wanted to complete this c25k thing.  I was also down because my runs in the allotted times were not nearing 3 miles, they were closer to 2 or 2.5 miles.  At this rate, no way am I ever going to be able to make it 10k in November.  *sad panda*

Waaaah.  Crybaby me.

So I woke up, put on my running stuff, filled up the water bottle, got in the car, and drove to the park.  The sun was coming up so bright and pretty, and my breathing medicine was starting to work.  I decided NOT to use my c25k app on the phone today, and instead just GO (no 5 minute warmup walk) and run until I'd run 3 miles.  I told myself "I can do this.  This is do-able.  Slow and steady wins the race."

Slow and steady I went.  FOR THREE MILES.  I turned on the runkeeper app so I could hear my distance and pace-- which ended up being right around 13:20 per mile.  This is significantly slower than I'd like to be, but for now I'm working on completion, not speed ; )  Mile 1 was not super easy, nor was mile 2.  Surprisingly enough, Mile 3 was when I really started getting into a nice rhythm and felt my body propel itself without my having to think about each step, one foot in front of the other.  Don't get me wrong-- I was so glad to be done and to have achieved a 3-mile stretch... but I'm not looking at 3.5, 4, or 4.5 miles as such a daunting task anymore.  I'm looking forward to breaking those barriers as well-- something I have never done before in my LIFE.

It isn't easy, but it's worth it.

You just have to DO IT.  There's no easy way, and there's really no easy workout.  You have to come to an understanding with yourself that if you want the results, you have to put in the work.  You have to stop telling yourself stuff like "I'll start next week" and make changes in your life that allow you to make time for it.  Not "have time" for it, make time.

It doesn't really and truly ever get "easier".  If you exercise early, it's always a drag getting out of your snuggly bed.  You just have to reach a point where you decide that  you only have so long on this earth, and you're the only one who gets to decide if you're going to live it happily and healthily or otherwise. 

It's not easy to get up and get going and make it a priority to exercise, but it's also not easy to live your life with the consequences that accompany an inactive, indulgent lifestyle.  You get to choose which one you want to live with.