The first week of training: I made it!

I decided to sleep in this morning instead of going to the gym before I had to babysit and then I went grocery shopping and by the time I got home it was after five which is when my gym closes on Sunday. It was finally warm enough to run outside so I headed out and was incredibly surprised by how amazing it felt. I definitely love running outside way more than on the treadmill. It was dark and I couldn't see much and it's definitely more challenging because of the ups and downs and jumping over puddles and my legs were sore from yesterday but I felt really strong and capable. My breathing has been really great and I can feel the muscles building in my legs and I feel like I'm finally understanding what my sister and brother love so much about running. I never thought my body could do the things I'm asking it to do and it's amazing to see.

I use the Run Keeper app on my phone to track my runs/walks when I'm outside. Here's a picture of my run this afternoon.



And here's a picture of me afterwards.



This time last Sunday I was sitting in bed thinking that I really wanted to work up the courage to run a half marathon. And now it's the end of the first week of training and I cannot believe that I've stuck to it so far. I'm really glad that (so far) I've been writing everything down because it will be amazing to look back on all of this when the half marathon is over and see where I started.

Week One Recap:
Monday: Rest
Tuesday: 3.01 miles in 40:14
Wednesday: Rest
Thursday: 3.01 miles in 40:46
Friday: 30 minutes on the elliptical, 30 minutes walking.
Saturday: 4.04 miles in 54:02
Sunday: 3.12 miles in 40:10

Total mileage (running): 13.18 miles

In Weight Watchers news, I weighed in yesterday and was really disappointed to have gained two pounds. I was so hungry last week and I really just wanted to eat carbs and fat. I cried a little over the gain because in terms of running I worked harder than I have ever worked at anything in my life and I was really hoping to see a loss. However, I wasn't surprised. And now I'm letting it go. This is a new week and I have a kitchen full of fresh fruits and vegetables and I spent an hour this evening chopping everything and putting it into snack bags to take to work. I'm making crockpot vegetable soup for lunches. I feel better prepared to handle being hungry this week.