the sweet spot

I'm not sure why I ever stopped running. Earlier this year, I was on a roll: I ran 4-5 days a week, about 18-20 miles. I know many runners who do more than that, but for a girl who used to barely huff and puff her way through a half a mile, well... it was a freaking miracle, right up there with fishes and loaves and the Red Sea parting. Even better was that it was not 18-20 miles of sheer torture a week. Lo, I enjoyed each day I got to run. I felt empowered, unstoppable, even if I wasn't a speed demon. Rawrrrrr.

Maybe I got lazy, or bored, or overwhelmed by my last semester of nursing school, but I dropped the ball. Big time. I stopped running and promptly became more stressed, not as much fun to be around, and about 25 pounds heavier (not just from not running, but from a horrible downward spiral of my eating habits). Ugh.

So, at the beginning of October, I started running again. And eating right. There was some instant gratification from the eating: you feel good almost immediately, even if there are some residual cravings, like a really unexplainable desire for Chicago-style hot dogs. (Okay, I still have those cravings.) But picking up running again after you haven't ran in nearly 6 months isn't quite as easy at first. I ran a mile that first day, and it was about as enjoyable as having my teeth cleaned. Dude, was I SLOW. I am really not exaggerating when I say that a pair of senior citizens easily passed me on the trail, and they were walking. But I kept going.

Within a few weeks, I was still running, getting close to the two mile mark, not a whole lot faster, but not overtaken by the over-70 demographic. And I knew that I would get back to where I used to be, fitness-wise. It was a better experience: definitely not the fabled runner's high or anywhere close, but I wasn't shouting colorful expletives and twitching anymore, either.

Pretty soon, it started getting easier. I started getting a little faster. My stride got a little longer. I ventured farther and farther. As a side bonus to complement my better eating habits, I dropped a dress size and 8 pounds.

Tonight, I ran a 5K in length on the trail, and I felt like I was gliding. There were the usual aches and pains at the beginning of the run, my body reminding me that I spent the day in a classroom and not walking around to get warmed up, but after about a half a mile, they were gone. Other runners passed me. I didn't care. I enjoyed all 45 minutes of it (see? not a speed demon) and came home, stinky, sweaty and happy, wondering why I'd ever stopped running in the first place.

Can I inspire any fellow couch potatoes out there? It's not impossible to do it, enjoy it, and want to do it again the next day. Go Team!