Feeling Good

I don't know how many of you follow me on Facebook. (probably not many since I don't have many followers on my blog.) But, if you do you will know that I have begun exercising. Yes, I know. In the begininning of the year I started doing "Shred". While I liked it (as much as you can like feeling like you are dying every day), I didn't follow through with it. I got injured doing a step test for work. Once I'd rehabilitated that injury I got sick. Then the whole "female issue" started, which we now know ended in emergency surgery and 6 weeks off from doing anything remotely athletic. That brings us to July. I was asked to participate in a 3K walk/run to benefit a dispatcher's wife who is battling breast cancer. Well, the girls doing it with me are or were runners and I was in no shape to keep up. So, I strapped on my tennis shoes and began walking. First it was just a couple days a week around my neighborhood. (At least 30 minutes so it would register on my Polar for Vitality.) Little by little I started adding in some jogging towards the end. As the heat during the day got worse I decided to start walking on my lunch at work. The weather at 3 am isn't too bad. So, I started utilizing the track. I wanted to do 2 miles. And so I did. 2 miles in just under 35 minutes. All walking. Then, I decided I'd try to jog a little. So, I would jog a straight-away then walk. Soon I upped it to jogging the straight-aways and walking the curves. Pretty soon I was shaving time off my 2 miles. A couple weeks ago I decided to push myself and see what I could do. I jogged a whole lap! That's 1/4 of a mile. I know, I know. Whoopity Dee Do! But, you are talking about someone who #1 hasn't really exercised on a normal basis since high school and #2 was a smoker for a long time. I still continued to jog the straight-aways and walk the curves. Tonight I decided to push myself a little more. I jogged over 3 laps tonight before deciding to walk. That is 3/4 of a mile! I am not fast and my form isn't pretty. But, this is baby steps for me. I don't know that I will ever be a "runner". I don't know that I will ever enjoy running. But, the feeling I get once I'm done is indescribable. It's a good stress reliever, for one. Plus, I know I am making myself healthier. It's frustrating when I step on the scale and haven't lost a pound or when I put on my clothes and they don't fit any different. But, I know that there is something changing inside of me. I am becoming stronger. My heart is becoming stronger. My faith in myself is becoming stronger. It feels good to finally be "feeling good".