Three weeks ago, I signed up for a 10K. Even when I think about it now, it seems farfetched and ridiculous, especially coming from me--one of the laziest, indoorsiest people I know!
I was talked into it by a coworker and, to be honest, as much as I am freaked out by my impulse decision, I am determined to accomplish it!
And today, as I had a day off and been itching to gauge how I would do in running in the elements, I ran outside (not at the gym)!
Pictured above was my running route today. It really was a blessing in disguise. I've lived in this area for three years now and today was the first time I stepped foot in Hudson County Park.
The track immediately surrounding the pictured frozen lake is almost exactly a mile long--so doing my 3miled was easily achievable despite my freezing fingers!
Not only was the atmosphere refreshing, but running outside gave me an oppotunity to think differently from how I would at the gym. At the gym, I'm fixated with numbers, counting down the seconds when I can dial down the speed and lower the incline. The only thing I could think of is "When will this run end?"
For the first time since I started training for the race, I thought "I want to go farther and further."
And the more I ran, the less I thought that I was applying those thoughts to running. I thought of all the things I have been going through lately and how I wish I could just put a halt on things and push them aside, sleep and not have to deal with them anymore.
But today I thought: "Bring it on. I'm excited to go through and over them." To be able to say that I took a challenge head on and conquered it--that's how I choose to look at this now.
So maybe I should run outside more often. But first, I'm gonna need to pick up some gloves.
