Finding my Footing, Regaining my Stride

Before I did into the real part of this post, I must of course put my two cents in about the glory that was last night and is this morning (hey -- I woke up and started blogging right away!).  Very unexpectedly, Jake and I found ourselves without our 3 year old.  Grandma and Grandpa called, hinted around, asked us what we were doing, and suggested that Logan come visit them.  It's so funny.  I love how that happens -- "So... what are you guys planning on doing today?  How's Logan? ...um, we're not doing much of anything..."  So Logan went to have a sleepover, and Jake and I found ourselves at 4:30 with nothing to do... We made the 45 minute drive back from the "country" to the "city"  (Jake is from a smallish town outside St. Louis -- I always laugh how he refers to it as the country...).

The weather called for ice to begin around 7, so we decided an early dinner and then some football/Mad Men watching was in order.

We went to this cute, little place called Twin Oak.  "Wood Fired Fare" they boasted.  YUM!  And here's the doozie -- I ordered fish!  I haven't eaten fish in... like, ever.  My thing with it is, it smells like fish food.  Those nasty little flakes that my fish ate when I was little.  YUCK.  I ordered salmon.  It smelled like fish food when they brought it out.  :(  My fear is, that since it smells that way, it's going to taste like fish food.  But guess what!!!??? IT DIDN'T.  AND, once I started eating it, that fish food smell went away.  Weird, right?  Yeah... I know.  I'm weird.  SO weird.  But look how tasty!

So yeah.  I tried fish.  I liked it.  I'm happy about it.  I've been wanting to eat it for the health benefits... and now I can!

Now... On to the meat of this post.  R-U-N-N-I-N-G.  

Last year, I exclaimed my love for it in this post.  When we moved back to St. Louis, I kept it up for awhile, but then... lost it.  I ran on Thanksgiving in order to allow myself to eat a little more (!), but after that, I lost it.   On December 29th, I ran 4.5 miles.  I felt great.  I felt exhilarated.  I was excited that I was able to pick it up like that ::snaps fingers::, and I truly felt great after it.  I told myself -- this is it.  I'm going to run again.

Then I got sick.  For two weeks.  BLAH.

But yesterday morning I woke up and went.  I went to Grant's Trail -- which is a wonderful place that I've always lived by and never went!  The part of the trail I chose to run on goes along Grant's Farm which is an awesome place in the middle of St. Louis that houses the Budweiser Clydesdales among a hundred other fun things. (You can see Logan having fun last summer at Grant's Farm in this post).  But I got to run by those lovely clydesdales.  It was wonderful!  I also got to run by so many doggies that were out for a little exercise.  And I ran by a hundred friendly people who were running, walking, or bike riding.

It was great.  Before, for whatever reason, I've steered clear of running in "organized spots" like these, opting more for a neighborhood run.  I was wrong to do that.  These "organized spots" are so much better!  I can't really explain it -- I guess bad distractions are gone (traffic, monotony of house after house) and good distractions are delivered (horses, dogs, friendly waves, and the ball fields I used to play at when I was younger).  

It was a great run.  5.05 miles later, I stretched and felt GREAT.

  

If you run, you know.  The feeling you get after you're done is that of a true "runner's high".

Yeah... the first mile or two suck (at least after not running for awhile), but then you find your groove and you're there.

For me, my problem is not wanting to run.  It's just finding the time and feeling okay about doing it.  Right now, especially, with it getting dark early, and Jake not getting home until after it's dark, weeknights (which is when I usually ran when I was doing it everyday) are pretty much out of the question.  BUT... I can do weekends.  And Wednesday mornings when Logan is at school  And I could also do Monday mornings.

For now, I'm going to try to run at least three times a week.  It's something I know will make me happy.  It's something I know will make me healthy and make healthier food decisions.  Are you like that, too?  Once you start working out you find yourself fueling your body with more healthy options?

I'm ready.  Even with aesthetic desires aside, running makes me feel mentally stronger and ready to take on life.  Here we go.  I'll be heading out the door shortly!

Happy Sunday, friends!