Yep. Fat Girl did 4.5 miles in 1:03. It's 98 degrees outside, humid as hell, but the running trail in Tobin Park is beautiful and I really enjoyed this run. I'm starting to use mantras and tools to help get my ass moving. One mantra is "Keep going, don't stop", and the other thing I do is count my steps. I'll start counting, and will try to get to 100, or some other round number, or hit 40 and say "10 more steps", then 10 more, then 10 more, until I need to stop running and start walking. I'm lovin' this. I'm enjoying seeing my progress, knowing that I'm doing just a tiny bit better now, because for so long it seemed like I was stagnating, like my 5K runs were getting taking longer and I was not going anywhere. I think that meeting a few new people has helped get me moving a little more, and especially signing up for a half marathon. The really crazy thing is that I don't usually talk to people out of the blue and tend to keep to myself. I'm usually the biggest person in the room, and at the races I participate in, I feel like the fattest person there, like the real runners are looking at me wondering what the hell I'm doing there.
Still, I don't care what they think. I'm there to do the race, improve my health, and have fun while doing it. I often wonder if people recognize me from the runs that I've done, since I know some of these people have probably been at the same races I have before. I don't usually look at people too much when I'm at a race, just bury my head and try to get through the next 3 miles, but I often wonder if people look at me and think "Oh, it's that girl with the big ass again. I see nothing's changed."
One of the things I think I love most about a run, whether it be a scheduled race, or just a run in the park, is the scenery and the sounds of the outside. I recently quit listening to music when I run, oddly enough, since I remember when I first started running, I didn't think I would be able to make it through a run WITHOUT music. I read an article in one of the running magazines I now subscribe to (imagine that) that many runners have stopped listening to music. I don't remember what made me try it, but one day I just went without, and I think I enjoyed it much better. I'll keep music available it I need it, and it's still great for hooping, but for now I think I enjoy the music that Mother Nature provides.
That's all for now. Tomorrow is National Running Day, and I have a run scheduled in the evening, so bed time must come soon. Gotta run!
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