And she's off...

I jumped out of bed ready to go at 9:00 a.m. this morning. OK, I know I said that I was going to get up at 6:00 but I totally forgot that yesterday was Monday, Memorial Day and not Sunday. You see, I don't go to work until 2:00 p.m. on Tuesdays so I did take advantage of that and slept in. My plan as of last night was to get up at 8:00 this morning when my husband called to wake me but, he was too busy at work so I didn't wake on my own as early as I would have liked.

Now out of bed, I got dressed, pulled my hair back into a ponytail, and put a load of laundry in the washer. Next, I ate a banana and drank 1/2 a bottle of grape Propel. I figured the banana would give me a boost of natural sugar and potassium and the Propel would give me some fluids and vitamins to start. I laced up my shoes, put on my stopwatch, grabbed another bottle of grape Propel and headed out the door.

My previous mile pace was about 17 - 17.5 minutes. I wanted to finish my 2 mile walk in less than 34 minutes today, AKA: a 17 minute mile. Out of my driveway I went determined to pump my legs hard and push myself to a faster time.

Now I have to tell you that I live out in the country a bit and the roads that I walk on are just rural routes. I don't live in a city, town or neighborhood with nice sidewalks or designated walking paths. I walk approximately 2/10 of a mile and turn onto a dead end road with relatively low traffic. If I walk the full loop, it is 3 miles. To make sure that we could track our progress properly, my husband and I took the car out one weekend and marked the pavement at every 1/2 mile. I also feel compelled to tell you that being out in the country can lead to some interesting obstacles such as various critters running across the road in front of you (slimy ones too). Also, there are a few people who allow their dogs to run amok and chase anything that comes down the road...more on that later.

Back to this morning's walk. Just a little over 1/10 of a mile into my walk I noticed some large birds circling over a particular area. Now, if you know anything about birds then you have already guessed that they were buzzards (vultures to some) and they were having their morning meal. I can tell you that having 3 large buzzards circling over your head while you walk is a bit intimidating but I figured I wouldn't have a problem until I came back by them and looked, well, dead tired.

Now beyond the circling birds, I focused on the 1/2 mile mark. this part of the walk was uneventful and perhaps gave me too much time to reflect on the tight calves and the sweat now rolling off of my head. I briefly considered only walking 1 mile. Afterall, it is very cloudy today and could start raining or storming at any minute. But, I dismissed the thought reminding myself of my purpose and continued on.

I reached the half mile walk at 8.75 minutes, a 15 second slower pace than I wanted. What do you do then? You move faster. Sound easy? HA! I wish. I was hurting but, it was not unbearable.

Back to the dogs running loose...there is a point on my course where I come to 2 houses that have both have dogs which have chased me. All of these dogs are shaggy little messes that have all the attitude of a bull elephant. I have stopped to meet 2 of them when their owner came out to make sure I knew that they wouldn't bite me. Coconut is the worst, he will chase me whenever I turn my back on him like he is trying to sneak up and bite me on the back of the leg. However, he is also the cutest and I have a soft spot for him.

I made it to the turn around at mile 1 in 16:52, just under the pace that I wanted to reach. Feeling energized that I could push it and make it back even faster, I was now playing a mental game. Talking to yourself can look strange, even scary to anyone who is watching but it helps. As I was approaching a steep hill, I remembered some tips my sister had given me. First, lean into the hill and pump your arms. It works. I can go up a hill faster than I can go down one...to a point. Near the top of the hill I wanted to slow down, shins burning, calves burning, hips screaming. Now comes the second tip, imagine a rope around your middle, attached to the top of the hill, pulling you to the crest. Better yet, imagine someone who loves you, your cheerleader, pulling that rope, helping you through the hardest sections of your course. It works too! I could see my sister standing at the top of the hill, pulling that rope for all she was worth, telling me the whole time, "You've got this Tottie. Keep pumping. You're right there."

The third 1/2 mile was my fastest at just 8 minutes. The last 1/2 mile forced me to dig deep, pump harder and move faster. Back past the buzzards covering my head, knowing the end was in sight. All of a sudden my vision blurred...I thought, uh-oh, I've over done it, I'm having a stroke or something. It took only a fraction of a second but I realized that it was just sweat on my glasses. Finish line in sight, I could see my husband (he was still at work but there was no mistaking what my mind saw) at the end of the driveway yelling, "Come on Sweetie, pick it up, you're almost there." I did pick it up. I ran the last 100 feet (ouch, ouch, I wish those new, "no bounce" sports bras would get here) and stepped into my driveway at 32:58. That's right, a full 30 second faster pace than I thought I would make. Yea me!

I walked around the yard for a few minutes to start the cool down process. If you don't know, this is when the sweat really pours resulting in a condition we refer to as "ogre butt". I stretched my legs and drank the other half of the grape Propel that I started this morning. Once cooled down with breathing back to normal, I had breakfast, 1 cup of Multi-Grain Cheerios with 3/4 cup of 1% milk and a 1/2 cup of strawberries.

I feel good. I have day one of training for a 10K out of the way and I am anxious to walk again tomorrow at 6:00 a.m. I'll stick with it, work through the aches and pains and celebrate the successes. Hopefully, as I work towards the 10K I'll be working off more of me, sweating off one pound of fat at a time. It's good for me so smile and...

Don't Pity the Fat Girl.