Alki

Today we ran the most gorgeous strip of Seattle...or the strip of West Seattle with the most gorgeous VIEW of Seattle would be more accurate, I suppose! The route was 5 miles, the temperature perfect (for me...a little cold for Kyle), a little wind, a little overcast, gorgeous gorgeous day. I had just the right amount of clothing on...enough to be warm in the beginning, but cool enough at the end that I didn't feel like I could heat an average sized home just by entering it. The run itself was flat and not too busy with just a few walkers to avoid and a few bikes trying to avoid us.

Now that I've told you how perfect the weather/route/location/day was, let me tell you that running 5 miles still does not feel perfect!!! Its definitely still a push for me to go that far and not feel like falling over...okay I do FEEL like falling over...so I guess its a push for me to go that far and not actually fall. Kyle strolls along next to me like its nothing and I huff and puff and complain about every little ache until my breathing is too hard to actually complain anymore. It was nice today though...I started feeling bad and I remembered what Kaisha wrote in her blog (thanks, Kaisha) about hitting a slump in her workout "Kaisha, if you don't change the way you're thinking you're going to fail." So Kaisha, change the way you're thinking! Just kidding. "Hannah, if you don't change the way you're thinking..." It really helped. I don't want to fail. I didn't speed up and power through the end of the run or anything, but I reminded myself to keep going. Five miles is a long way. I have to remember to concentrate on the positives.

1. I could not run 1 mile 3 months ago and now I can (however slowly) run 5.
2. If I did run 1 mile 3 months ago I turned purple and couldn't breathe for like 10 minutes after (about the same time I peeled myself off the floor next to the treadmill). Now my coloring is somewhat normal (maybe only tomato-ish, not eggplant-ish) and my breathing returns to normal within a minute or two.
3. I get to enjoy beautiful Seattle with my boyfriend who I love very much (everyone can gag right now, its okay, I won't be offended)
4. I'm not sitting on the couch.
5. Did I mention I'm not sitting on the couch?

Woo! Go run Alki! Even though it hurts! :)