Week two begins.

Monday’s weather was clear, cold (34 degrees) and windy. I went out for a 1-1/2 mile walk ; an easy 30-minute walk around the neighborhood and by the lake near the office.

But oh my, that wind! I had tears streaming from my eyes while I was walking. My sunglasses were little help. I listened to the radio, a news program, on my Mp3 player (not an iPod—they do not have FM tuners) and strolled along hoping to get the walk in and me out of the wind as quickly as possible.

Day one of week two of the walk/run program began on yesterday. The forecast called for rain moving in the region by the afternoon. Okay, I was up past midnight on Monday and didn’t get up to go to the fitness center to use the treadmill. It was as cold as its been these past few mornings, so the temperature shouldn’t have kept me from getting up and going. I just wanted to sleep an extra hour. So I packed my outdoor clothing and took it to work, betting the rain would come after my lunch break and not before it. My coach (I work with her) even got on me for not going in the morning. She doesn't want me to go off track.

Turns out I made a good call. (Whew!)

I went out around noon to partly cloudy skies and 36 degrees and breezy. No teary eyes. This second week’s series are to run for 90 seconds and walk for two minutes, six times. It’s still a 20-minute series, excluding the 10 additional minutes for the warm-up and cool-down. Let me tell you that I really those few extra minutes of running in my legs. They were really tight by the fourth time. I stretched long after, and took a hot shower. At home I took another long, hot shower.

I am happy to report that I was less winded (out of breath) than before. Small benefits were gained from taking baby steps. In the past I would have overdone the running, and pushed myself as hard as I did during my Marine Corps days. Injuries would follow, sidelining me for long periods of time and the whole cycle would start again. By using this beginning runner’s program to gradually bring me up to a 3-mile run in two months, I’ve had no shin splints, pull muscles, hamstring or quad issues, and my feet are feeling good.

I think the difference for me is that I had to accept that I’m in my mid 40s, and my body is no longer a 20-something dynamo that can do anything and everything. I did grieve for my old body. Physically, she was lean, strong, and (I thought) cute as hell! Not too skinny, and not too big…just right with broad shoulders, long, toned arms and legs, and a tight abdomen (yes, even after I had my baby.) And then I lost her. She made a resurgence in the early 2000’s, but slipped away again. Blame it on the happy hours, cheese won-tons, and bread sticks from Oscar’s and fish tacos from Rubio’s. She’s not the same. She lost a lot of ground. But she’s gaining momentum and starting to get strong again. This time I have the patience to give her all the time she needs to return to me and stay with me forever…healthy, vibrant, and a runner once again.

But she has to get her ass back out there tomorrow! ☺