Re-Run

I am not a quitter. I never have been, I might stumble on the way to my goal, but eventually I get where I was headed. I feel that if you start something you need to finish it. Of course, there are exceptions like injuries and acts or God or nature, but I am talking about finishing things within your control. I teach this to my children as well, if we start baseball, we are going to finish the season, if you decide not to do it again next year that is fine, but for this year you are committed.
This is probably one of the biggest reasons I made myself go outside and run last night. I could have slunk back down to the basement and run on the treadmill, where I am happy and feel successful, but I didn't. I know that the only way I am going to finish my 5k in September is to get outside and run. To face the sun and the heat and, to be honest the fear, and to just run. It went much better than the day before. I adjusted my stride and my speed and I was able to run for over 4 minutes at a time. This is double what I was running the day before. I think it helped that I knew more what to expect from the run. The first day I went outside with the naive thought that it would be just like running on the treadmill, yesterday I knew it would not be. It would be harder. Nothing keeping pace for me, nothing but myself and the pavement. It was hard, but I pushed through, I kept putting one foot in front of the other. I know that each day will get better and I will get stronger and faster, my runs will get longer and my walking breaks shorter. I just need to remember that quitting is not an option. It would be easier to get back on the treadmill but that won't get me to my goal, being outside will.
I feel different after an outside run too. Oddly enough I don't feel as if I worked as hard. Strange because when I am running an interval I feel like my legs could not take another step, like I need to breath, but after a short walk I feel good again. I know it is just an adjustment and it will take some time. But I am confident that I will get where I want to be. I have to, my race is a month away.