Day Eleven.

Wow. There is nothing like the feeling after running.

An even better feeling is right after I take a short break to catch my breath and take a full swig of water. It's like I'm in a hot tub from the waist down. My knees feel warm all over, the comfort is so amazing it's almost as if in that moment I feel invincible. I mean, there is NO pain in my joints, only a warm lubricated sensation. If I were to explain the discomfort I feel daily, I would choose words like dry, weak, fragile, tender, stiff, etc. Running gets everything circulating I guess.

Today's run was really wimpy though. Outside was cold, about 45 and windy and I cramped after 5 minutes. I was so disappointed, I leaned up against a building a sulked until the cramp went away. I can feel myself building strength, gaining the capacity to do this and maybe today I neglected to drink enough water before or maybe I salted my food too much but either way it was a let down in a small way. I decided to do minute long sprints in a set of three until I got home so I could get the cardio without the agony of my side cramping up. Also, my feet were fine but I definitely needed gloves. I figured I would get warm but my hands didn't, they kind of went a bit numb actually.

Something really cool though? I ran through the mainstreet today and at night all the colored lights flew past me, it was like I was on a rollercoaster. I was running pretty fast so I was able to enjoy myself watching the scenery change to quickly. If I hadn't had a stitch in my side I would have loved to run a long time. Let it be known then that my new goal is to be able to run for 15 minutes straight.

On a different note, I noticed something that might help my eating habits. If I stop eating after 8pm, I wake up feeling slim, empty, light, without going to bed on a full stomach. I think that's also been proven to be a key factor to weight loss so I guess I could save myself some frustration by not sabotaging all my hard work. I think if I ran 10 miles and then went to bed after eating a huge meal, most of that would be stored as fat anyway. Just a tip.

I did sit ups today and now 20 sit ups arent enough to get me burning, 25 is the magic number. It used to be 15 so that's an area that I see improvement in. :) I can also bring myself lower with my pushups so that means my arms are getting stronger. I only did 7 today--a set of 5 and then two more--but I was trying extra hard to get it right and take my time to work those muscles.

Anyways, here are the stats:

-1500 calories
-10 minute run
-50 sit ups, 7 push ups, 1.5 hr walk

354 days to go.

-B.B