Progress

For the past couple of weeks the weather has varied from snow falling, to lovely sunshine and 40s, yet with the snow barely melting away, back to snow falling again. Through it all, I have managed to be able to get out on the road to run at least three to four days a week. Through a link made available on the Couch 2 5K site, I found a calorie calculator that gave me general guidance for what I should be eating in order to lose weight while I'm putting this much work in to running.

I'm not a fanatic, and certain disciplines elude me, others seem downright obsessive. So, easy to follow general guidelines are more my style. My mind tends towards justifying many things, and so I could easily tell myself that, "Since I ran today, I can have extra!" I do, however, hope to be able to fit back into some of my favorite clothes that have been waiting patiently in the closet for a couple of years, so those justifications won't be tolerated any more.

I have lost 4 pounds and am wearing two pair of jeans that were uncomfortably tight a few months ago... That is the best encouragement of all to keep up with the discipline!

Yesterday was my first day of Week 7 in the C25K program. W6D3 was a 25 minute run with no breaks. Every day of Week 7 is a 25 minute run with no breaks! I increased my distance slightly for W6D3, which, where I am running, meant further uphill before turning around. So I am running down a slope, up another slope, back down that one, and up again at the far end of my run. Including the warm-up walk at the beginning of the run, I am now going beyond two miles. The next increase in distance will get me back to a level area before returning to the hills. Since we live on the top of a hill and the road I run traces the top of the ridge I am limited in where to go without encountering serious inclines. I encourage myself with the thought that it must be strengthening me ultimately to hit the hills. (I could segue here into the church conference on God's Providence, but Isaac just providentially missed his bus- so I have to get going...)

Last night I inventoried my closet just for a reminder of what I'm hoping to wear once the weather warms up. It'll seem as if I've gotten a whole new wardrobe if I stay on track!