40 minutes run/walk, all barefoot

This makes me feel sane. I feel so calm that I just don't have anything else to say. My mind is quiet so I'm going to go enjoy that. :-)

Hike-2 miles-ish

I've done this easy hike with my friend Laura every so often for the past few years. It always makes me gasp for breath--today, no problem. Could have gone around again. Yay! That was a great feeling. I couldn't remember the footing so I wore my cheapy Target Converse tennies. (I've always worn hiking boots before.) I'm not sure about wearing my Soft Stars on that footing for fear that my feet slip around too much inside them. Something more along the lines of foot fitting pool shoes would be better for that kind of footing I think (gravelly, a little slippery, hilly). Maybe someday barefoot but my foot pads aren't up for that yet. But for now just walking it will be a new workout for my foot and leg muscles. It was fun--we brought Onya my Border Collie and her 3 adult Border Collies--always great to see the dogs running full out chasing prairie dogs and just enjoying life.

45 minutes

Some running but probably 2/3 walking. Didn't feel up to much. I was able to talk myself out of all the 'shoulds'--why 'should' I do anything? This is just for me. I'm glad I realized it :-) The skin on my feet is still a little tender so tomorrow I'm just walking and no barefooting.

25 min walk/run

I went out for a walk with Onya thinking if I felt like running I would. Barefoot of course. My footpads are coming along nicely. Felt great and spent the whole time walk/running. Not sure if I should be doing it two days in a row but I felt fine and still feel fine. Supposed to rain tomorrow evening anyway so I'll rest then.

Forgot to mention--last night while Onya and I were out we saw a coyote! It was about the same size as Onya (about 35 lbs) but had longer legs. It was about 20 feet away. I saw it first and had Onya lie down. As soon as I did that the coyote tucked it's tail and ran by us. Onya saw it and took about 3 running steps toward it before I could get another, "LIE DOWN!" out of my mouth. She did and the coyote kept on running. It passed with about 10 feet between us--so cool. One of the great things about living here!

Whoa. Thought I was going to have to call 911

The kids are napping and I'm rearranging my office. The windows are open and I hear this gasping noise. WTH? I look outside and across the street is a semi-overweight jogger. He staggers into view, leaning so far forward that he's almost falling into each step--I'm wondering how he can stay upright. He stops in front of my house and continues gasping. Then he bends over at the waist and gasps some more, ripping his headphones from his ears in a panicked motion. He's swaying a little and I'm thinking, "OMG he's going down, where's the phone!?" Incredibly he stays on his feet, puts the headphones back in and continues staggering jogging down the street!

OMG dude, slow the hell down! Walk! Walking is good, walking is your friend! He's the epitome of, "No Pain, No Gain." A heart attack waiting to happen. Scary. I hope he's okay.

Run 21--free at last! (1.8 miles)

I've been feeling...uninterested. Considering the fact that I've now been running for 3 months (as of the 15th) and am only on Week 5--I guess that isn't too surprising. I'll be out running and feeling great and The Voice on my iPhone tells me it's time to stop before I'm ready. It tells me to run and I do but then occasionally I can't finish the amount of time it wants. It tells me to run 20 minutes solid at the end of Week 5---are you kidding me??? All in all, The Voice and I are out of sync. MY Inner Voice said, "Duh. Time to let that all go and do what I say!"

Tonight I left the iPhone at home, brought my handweights (my Soft Star running shoes), Onya's frisbee, and Onya off leash. No music, no Voice other than my own. Lovely.

I ran the whole thing barefoot. I stopped when I was ready and ran when I was ready. Still doing walk/run. My pace was steady. My body felt great. My feet felt great. My mind felt great. I wasn't frustrated with Onya being off leash because I was paying attention rather than to The Voice. She was relaxed and easy going because of it. We were happy campers with each other. I left at 8:15 and it was still light.

I know I ran more than I ever have before. I did measure the run on Google Maps and came up with 1.8 miles. I did it in 35 minutes. Slow but happy for me. My final run was a 1/2 mile. A 1/2 MILE!!! It was AWESOME!!! I've never been able to do that before--yay for me! :-)

Run 20--Week 5, Run 1 (again)

Well, this was just blah. I don't even remember which day I did it on--sometime this past week. What happened after was more interesting (to me anyway).

Run 19-- Week 5, Run 1

Marvy. I felt good, did it all. Was curious how many minutes I could go on the last 5 min run but only made it to 7 before pain in my calf. I guess I'm still gaining strength.

Soft Star running shoes were shipped today!