Fit Friday: The Run

Gloves?  Check.

Thermal shirt?  Check.

Head wrap? Check.

Thermal pants?  Nope.  This is gonna suck.

I look out the window.  Still no sun. I say a brief prayer that the laws of the universe change and for just once, the sun pops up bright instead of slowly rising and warming the earth. I needed the sun and I needed it now. 

I don’t want to run today. Ten years in a southern climate has thinned by blood.  But it’s only fall. If I let the chill win now, it’s going to continue to win as the temperatures drop.

I look at my warm couch, topped with a fleece blanket and sigh. 

Let’s do this.

The first 10 minutes of a run always suck.  I feel heavy and tired and with every single run I have to convince myself to not turn around and call it early.  With this run I also have to contend with dropping temperatures and a slow but vicious incline.

Everything is so different that my runs in Savannah.  In Savannah, when I was on my own, without my running partner/therapist Tonya, I ran before the sun came up, trying to beat the oppressive heat and humidity.  My route was flat, down a lonely sidewalk past 4 half developed neighborhoods- all victims of real estate bubble burst.

My runs now are anything but lonely. In Savannah, my only company was the paperboy, who drove down the street at an unsafe seed, emergency lights flashing.  If I did come across another person, I usually got scared it was some creepy attacker, since fellow morning exercisers were so rare on my route.  Now, I run on busy streets with thousands of cars going past.  I have to watch for cars at each intersection, grateful for the opportunity to slow down or stop when one needs to pass.  There are other runners too. At least a dozen through the course of my 3.2 miles, all faster and more graceful than I, but all friendly and encouraging. 

On this run I’m 90% sure I passed a candidate in the mayoral race. He seemed to hate running as much as me, but he was going up a brutal hill. He smiled anyway and said hello. I did the same, though it still won’t make me vote for him.  He looked like a jerk on the last televised debate.

The elevation change on my Savannah runs was less than 10 feet.  Cincinnati might as well have mountains, with this particular route having a 500ft elevation change. I glide happily down the hills and grumble painfully as run back up, often slowing to a walk.  I like this particular route because the final half-mile is all downhill.

As I stride down the last hill, I realize I’m not cold. I haven’t been in awhile.  My nose is running and my toes are chilled but I’m pretty comfortable temperature-wise.  In fact, I feel invigorated.

I just needed to get started.   

Like all fitness and weight loss routines.  You just need to get started.

So, Mel was right.  Weight Watchers works. It's not that hard either.  Sure it's frustrating that I can't just shove any food I see into my mouth but it's empowering to know I don't have to to survive. 

Change from Last week: -2.6

Total Change: -3.6

Pounds needed to lose til goal: 21.4