The Running Journal

Friday the 15th was THE single best run I have (to this date) ever had. I felt great from the very beginning of the run to the very end of it. This is a bold statement for a few reasons: #1 Towards the end of my run, I realized that I had endured a limp-your-way-home ankle blister from my new running sneakers. Luckily, I was on such a high by the time I realized it that I limped up my driveway with a huge smile on my face.  #2 This was the first run in the C25K app that involved me running for 3 minutes straight. Saying I was terrified and doubtful of my ability to complete this is an understatement. Maybe it was the previous day’s rest or maybe I really am starting to progress, but I felt like the whole run - including the first 10 minutes - was done with ease. Even after the first running session, I was able to calmly control my breathing and get back into regulated breathing quickly. My legs didn’t feel like 18 ton cement blocks and there was no foot pain (well, side from the bl...

Today was an interesting day for me. I fought stomach issues pretty much all day which would normally make me miserable, but instead I felt pretty good - productive. I intended to use today as a rest from running and work on a weight training circuit, but then I remembered I have new shoes to test out. That combined with me feeling really sleepy around 5pm had me easily swayed to go for a run instead. I was tired and felt a few excuses slip through my mind, but today I easily dressed and prepped for the run without any real resistance. It’s been beautiful weather here lately which helps my pull to the outdoors and makes for a perfect running backdrop. I laced up my brand new New Balance running sneakers and headed out.  A bug flew into my mouth today. Luckily (???) it hit my lip and stuck there versus actually going into my mouth causing me to throw up and go into a full temper tantrum in the middle of my neighborhood. I was appalled by this event and also grateful it happened dur...

I am pretty unhappy with myself for letting go of this journal the past few days. I was really on a streak: a running streak and a journal streak. Before I get to today’s run, here’s a recap of what you have missed: Rest Days : Even though I hate the idea of taking a rest day from running, I know that they are important. While there have been some rest days that involved me only taking the dog for a walk, most of the days I am not running, I am using to do weighted/banded workouts at home. I can’t lie - I am definitely worried that rest days will slow down my running progress, but my legs feel a lot less worn down when I give them a rest here and there.  #RUNWITHMAUD : On Friday the 8th, I joined over 500k people in the Run With Maud dedication distance run. Hosted by Shaun King, the run was a dedication to Ahmaud Arbery who was wrongfully murdered by two white men in Georgia. While the 2.23 mile run was done by myself in my neighborhood, it was the first time I ran with a purpose;...

What a shitty day for a run. It’s somehow cold again which makes sense now because Philadelphia is now adjusting to climate change and providing us with a rotation of  2 days beautiful Spring weather, one day cold miserable weather. It’s only fair that Mother Nature curses us like this as we (humans) shit all over her year after year.  Alongside the colder temperature, there is rain. Not a downpour and not a mist, rather a perfectly in between rain that is downright annoying. With this being said, I can honestly say that I was kind of excited to take a run in the rain. I think this is because it sounds like something ‘real’ runners do and I want to be a ‘real’ runner. Therefore, I ran in the rain tonight.  Whether or not this made me a ‘real’ runner or not - I will leave up to you, but running in the cold rain was what it sounds like it would be - shit. Not even a quarter into the run, I was completely soaked and cursing every step I took. As I planned, I decided to not u...

Unlike my other posts, this one is being written the morning after my run (on may 6th). This is because I was so exhausted, mentally drained, and full of tacos last night that I could not muster up one ounce of energy to type out my thoughts. I am feeling much better today and already feel like I have accomplished much more than I did in the entire 24 hours provided to me just one day ago.  Maybe it is quarantine or maybe I am just in a slump, but I felt so sluggish yesterday. If I could have, I would have slept the whole day away. Alas, there was work to be done and a run to be completed so I skipped the bed (except for an afternoon nap) and slowly trudged through the day. I have been feeling very unmotivated by work. This isn’t too surprising as I work in finance which has the least amount of appeal to me that you can possibly imagine. I am grateful for my job, I adore the people I work with, and I appreciate that I work in an area of finance that allows me to be creative (writin...

Today’s run was so horrific and so glorious that I don't even know where to start.  Unlike the past two days, I didn’t have an overwhelming sense of anxiety pre-run. There was anxiety, but it wasn’t crippling like yesterday. Rather, I was more consumed with laziness. Finding the motivation to get off the couch, off the computer, put down the book, and take my eyes off the television was just so damn hard today.  I took Reggie for an afternoon walk which both he and I were quite exhausted from. Early into our walk I could feel the soreness from the past two days pulsing up and down my legs. My feet slightly aching where the arch should be in my foot (as a reminder I have ZERO arch in both feet - aka the flattest feet in the world - aka the worst feet in the world). This pain only further pushed me to want to take a rest day which in all honesty, could probably be used. I have done some form of exercise every single day for about 2 weeks now. However, as much as I wanted to just...

Day 2 - a second run outdoors and another day packed with anxiety, excuses not to go, and an extremely red face.  It was unusually warm today. Not just warm, but also a touch humid. As much as I crave the warmer months, East Coast summers are brutal. Humidity is the devil’s work and those who complain about heat on the West Coast have no idea what they are talking about. Humidity turns my brain into gel and makes me seriously consider things like shaving my head and moving to the North Pole. Again, an interesting headspace when I am sure I would be hideous bald and don’t like the cold.  I wanted to get Reggie out of the house so I decided to use the early afternoon for a long walk with him. I returned with sweaty roots and my t-shirt glued to my back. This was the beginning of an internal dialogue, lasting hours, on why I should not run today. It being 80 degrees and slightly humid outside tail spinned me into a million other reasons why today wasn’t a good day to run. It’s Su...

I did it. Today I went on my first outdoor run and it was fucking hard. While it was one of the most challenging forms of exercise that I have done in a long time, it was also one of the best things I have done for myself in a long time.  I decided to use the infamous Couch to 5K app that I have heard a bunch of other people talk about. I get it. The app is pretty awesome as it gets you off the couch and up to a 5k run in 8 weeks. Each week hosts 3 different runs which alternate between running and walking. It was honestly a really effective tool that allowed me to actually make it through the 30 minute workout.  I want to write out this well thought out dialogue about how the run went, what it felt like during the 30 minutes, and how I feel now that I am home and showered. However, I am pretty hangry and feel unable to properly articulate my thoughts. Instead, I am going to give you a general idea of what the experience was like:  First, I feel really fucking proud of ...

It’s 10:30pm on a Friday night and I am sitting on the couch with my laptop. Party animal, I know. We are currently amidst a pandemic known as COVID-19 which has prevented most of us from leaving our homes for weeks. Not that this changes things because without a doubt, I would still be at home, on a couch at 10:30pm on a Friday, regardless of a pandemic.  The difference on this night is that I have grabbed my computer to write out my thoughts; something I have not done in a very long time. Maybe it is the mandated isolation or maybe I am just entering my mid-life crisis, but I feel like my brain is shooting into a million different directions all at one time. I have a dark cloud of worry sitting over my head and I am unable to find a sense of clarity. My hope is that sorting through my brain on this white page will help me a bit. So.. let’s try this.  I have something that I want to declare: I want to be a runner. Much like Michael Scott, who famously walks into the office an...