March 4-10

Today's weight: 174.6 pounds

Workouts:
Monday: Ran 5K, abs and back
Tuesday: Elliptical for 5K
Wednesday: Upper body/abs for 30 minutes
Thursday: Off
Friday: Off
Saturday: Ran 5K
Sunday: Ran 5K

This was a week of firsts. The first time I fit in five workouts since the new year (or longer). The first time I ran outside since October. The first time I signed up for a 10K (though I'd started training for one before, but got hurt before I could even sign up).

Running outside was exactly what I needed. I haven't been to the gym since Tuesday. Even in the dreary, cold mist, it felt good. I needed some fresh air. I've felt cooped up. This helped.

I made myself a 10K training guide, adapted from this. Tonight will be the first workout. It's ten weeks long, and it has three days of running, three days of strength-training, and two days of cross-training each week. I'm hoping this is what it will take to do the things I want to do but haven't made myself do (run more than 5 miles, lift weights, etc.). I used a training guide to run my first 5K. I don't know why I didn't think of this a long time ago.

While making the 10K plan, I realized the other day that running has been a lesson in patience. I am not a patient person, ever. But running -- something I've been working at for two years -- has taught me how to persist, how to practice, how to be deliberate. Nothing else has (except, maybe, for grad school). I've spent two years trying to whittle down my mile time, two years trying to build endurance. I'm excited for what this third year holds.