5 miles

Today I ran 5 miles. I ran in my neighborhood; every time I saw a street I ran down it until I got to the main road, then I went home. Amelia loves running! She's less happy when I walk. Sadly, my walking buddy, Susie sprained her ankle yesterday so I'll probably be doing a bit more running in the mornings. At least Amelia will be happy.

It was hot today, nearly 75. It's hard to run in hot weather, but especially hard because it makes my blood sugar drop more quickly than in cooler temperatures. I did not plan on hot weather, it is February 1 after all. I guess because of the weather, and maybe because of what I ate for breakfast, I had extremely low blood sugar when I got home. I felt awful: dizzy, light headed. I was nearly certain that I was going to faint. The funny thing is, I didn't realize how awful I felt until I stopped running. I drank tons of Gatorade to bring my blood sugar to an acceptable level. As soon as I started to feel normal again I jumped in the shower but my blood sugar continued to drop so mid-shower I jumped out and drank more Gatorade. And after my shower, another glass of Gatorade. It's a good thing Joe buys Gatorade in bulk.

I could never exercise for weight loss. It seems like every time I have a good work out I have to eat or drink tons of calories to stabilize my blood sugar. Ah diabetes, how I loathe thee.

Impetus

Because I am a stay at home mom I am entirely free to sculpt my day into whatever I choose. Some days I fail. Yesterday, was turning out to be one of those days. I was cooped up inside surfing the web while Amelia napped and Henry played games on my iPhone. Though I don't believe that a little down time is a bad thing every once in a while, it was a BEAUTIFUL DAY OUTSIDE and my kids and I were inside looking at computer screens. So, as soon as Amelia woke up, I packed her in the jogging stroller and Henry jumped in his Jeep Power Wheels and we went out for a little run. Henry protested. He wanted to stay inside. I coaxed him by offering to look for alligators at the pond. There is one pond about 3/4 of a mile from our house where we always see 7' alligators when the sun is still up.

On our run yesterday afternoon.

We travelled 3.27 miles; Henry in the power wheel, Amelia in the stroller and I in my old running sneakers. When we got home we played t-ball in the backyard. Henry won, he always wins.

It's amazing how a little run can change the pace of the whole day. We were bored, we were ignoring each other, we were inside on a beautiful day. Today running was the impetus for an awful afternoon changed to a fun, active, outdoor afternoon that I enjoyed with my kids. (Amelia was in the exersaucer on the back patio having a fabulous time playing with her toys and watching mom and Henry chase each other around the bases.)

Next time I'm having a bad day I need to remind myself that the impetus for a better day is a little run.

Today I ran approximately 4 miles, along the beach, over the bridge and back.

Dolphins on the Bridge

Today I walked 2.8 miles. I might run later.

I walk daily with my friend Susie. I strap Amelia into my purple jogging stroller that my old neighbor gave to me and she straps her son Elliott into a stroller and we walk. Our route is the same every day; we start walking at her house, walk up the Granada street bridge, over the Halifax river, around the parks and back to her house. 

Today while we were on top of the bridge we saw dolphins in the river! The Halifax river is brackish water so salt water creatures play there as well as fresh water creatures. My best guess is that some of the dolphins were babies, they were so small.

I'm motivated to do something more for myself than just take care of kids. I love my children and I love that I get to care for them and nourish them, but I also yearn for something more than children's activities and cleaning. Since I'm so into running lately, I've been thinking maybe I should organize a local race.

In Utah, where I used to live, there are races all the time. For the past four or maybe five years on Thanksgiving day I have run the Turkey Trot 6k in City Creek Canyon, in Salt Lake City. This year, Joe and I couldn't find a race, so we ran our own 6k. We plotted a trail on GoogleMaps and ran it with our kids in a stroller. It would be cool if I could replace that independent run with a race that I plan and execute... a big one that is timed. That would be awesome. When I was in college I planned way bigger events with ease, perhaps my motivation to run regularly will also motivate me to do something else for myself.

A much needed break.

Today I ran seven miles. It was mostly uneventful.

While I was running I was thinking about this blog. I decided last night that I needed to make myself accountable to something in order to motivate me on lazy days. Hence, the blog. Now I must record something about my run and so I must, in fact, run. *shock*

Isn't it amazing that I could run on January 22 in shorts and a t-shirt. I should have been thinking that.

On the street where I ran today.

I switched back to my old running shoes today. The shoes I wore while training to run my first 1/2 marathon. I love those shoes. The shoes I have been wearing weren't supportive enough. Fabulous old shoes are far better than sub-par new shoes. Actually, it's funny that today was the day that I switched. While I was running an overweight old man with a beard was out walking his dog when he saw me running past. He stopped me to ask what brand of running shoes I was wearing. I told him that I love my shoes.

I ran past a dead opossum. Today I saw my first live opossum at the Blue Springs Manatee Festival and my first dead opossum, on the side of the road by my house. Fortunately I saw it. Otherwise it may have been the first opossum that I ran through. *gross*

Joe watched the kids while I ran. Actually, he ignored Henry while I ran, hoping Henry would fall asleep. Amelia likely entertained herself. Joe did taxes. *boo*

It's such a treat to go running all by myself. I need to remember to take advantage of this opportunity whenever it presents itself.