[biggest loser: I'm A Runner.]

The sun came out yesterday ... and my legs were itching for a run.  

As of late, I've been concentrating on improving my 5km.  I've always averaged around 00:34:00/00:35:00 minutes - and then as of late, I've been knocking down the time to around 00:32:00.  Taking off a couple of minutes is huge in running ... and I've felt like getting it to under 00:30:00 is a pretty much near-impossibility.

Then this week I ran it in 00:31:00 (even.  :00.  seriously).  I was soooo pleased with that.  A few seconds quicker and I'm running it within 30minutes.  That's a big feat for me and my little limbs ...

Yesterday I took a friend's advice and decided to run for time, rather than distance.  He suggested that I run for at least an hour - after hearing me complain about the tire that I feel is sitting on my waist.  He said that for the first 30minutes of a workout (with your heart-rate at a specific level), your body only burns sugar.  After the 30minutes, it begins to burn fat.  So - with me working on getting my 5km in under 30min, although great for cardio and my legs/butt (seriously.  can't believe the change ...), it's not burning the fat.

So, with his suggestion of an hour in mind, I stretched, set my Itunes to shuffle, and went for it.  And for those of you who have done any kind of workout for a consistent amount of time, you'll know what I'm saying when I say it's AMAZING how your body conforms.  It's like it WANTS to change, it's excited to.  It becomes so much more capable, efficient.  I mean, once I found my pace (I use an iphone app to watch that ...) I didn't even need to breathe out of my mouth.  It was actually ... easy.

I'm no longer doing 10 and 1s (running 10, walking 1) ... although if I up the distance to 15km or so, I will implement that I think.  It's in the Running Room Bible -  it's to allow time for muscles to recover ... 

As I approached 55minutes, I realized that I was almost at 10km.  Oh MY.  I was giddy - which is kind of a strange feeling when you're running - but I couldn't believe it.  My last 10km that I measured was 1:16:12.  And although I DID run 12km this past Saturday at 1:33:16 .... still.  My time was killing it ... 

So - with the thought that I could actually, maybe, possibly, do 10km in under an hour - I began to sprint ... and it was intense and easy all at the same time.  Euphoric.  I could've kept going ... I was actually a fair ways from our home but I decided to mark the 10km rather than just go for the hour for the sake of it ... my final time?  00:58:48.  And that was for 10.20km.  

I started crying.

Now, more than ever, I'm hungry for what I can push my body to do.  Yes, there is definitely a "runners high" that happens ... and I'm addicted.  I wake up in the morning, wondering if I'll get a chance to get my legs moving ... I wake up wondering how I can continue to change my body. It's a really, really insane thing.  Especially for me.

My only problem is that I'm so competitive, even with just myself.  I always want to do better ... and that's just not possible - I know.  I'm going to have days when I'm totally defeated and discouraged by the numbers ...  But as I was running and thinking about this yesterday, it made me think of golfers.  They can have an incredible round one day, and blow the whole thing the next day - just with one bad shot.  That kind of mental focus, to be able to regroup for the next round and just keep going - is what I want for myself.

A couple of nights ago I was waiting for some of the guys in the worship band to show up, and my girlfriend stopped by the church to deliver some Herbal Life (this is not a weight loss program, but rather a vitamin supplement program that promotes a healthier lifestyle.  But I have definitely seen a change since starting this ...).  I was talking to one of the guys about running, and as my friend was walking out of the room I said to the other guy, "... well, I'm not really a runner ... "  and she yelled from behind the wall, "YES YOU ARE!!  YOU RUN, YOU'RE A RUNNER."

I'm a runner.

Have a great one!!