ugh. tough workout day.

Ugh. This certainly isn't easy. My legs and my back ache. I'm definitely out of shape right now and it sucks. I can definitely tell an improvement every time I work out, but I'm worried that I'm pushing myself too hard. Then again, if I don't push myself, how will I ever improve? This project is about change and improvement. It's obviously also about pain... a lot of pain. Ha. That's reality. I can't express how sore I am without sounding extremely whiny. Maybe today was just a tough day. Tomorrow could be a better day. Actually, tomorrow will be my "rest" day, because I'm working a lot and have classes. Most Fridays, I won't be able to run much, but that's not neccessarily a bad thing. Everybody needs a rest day.

Today, I really pushed myself. I ran 3.26 miles. That doesn't sound like much, but I sprinted a lot of it and I was already really tired from my work out yesterday, not to mention I have a lot of projects due in the next few weeks that I have been working on, so that's not helping matters either. It figures that I start a new personal project at the same time that I have a ton of other stuff to do. I guess I just like to push myself pretty hard. Maybe that's the kind of person that I am. That's kind of a pattern of the past few years of my life. I do push myself pretty hard. I think that's a strength. (Obviously, I realize that it can also be a weakness, I'm not entirely closed minded. I'm just trying to see it in the most positive light.) I wish that I had a few more hours in my days, because things would seem a lot more simple.

Actually, I wish there were more hours during the day- particularly during the time of the day when the sun shines. I'm having a tough tiem being able to run outside when it's light out. It seems like it's suddenly dark all of the time. I just think it's a little bit creepy running around this place when it's dark. I think that it's probably safe on campus to run at night- I mean I know that I used to walk around at night all of the time before I moved off campus. It's just different. I always felt safe when I lived at home in an addition. I used to go for walks sometimes at night back then. I don't know what has changed. There's something about living on a college campus that feels like it's supposed to be dangerous. I think that might change, though. I mean, just beacuse it's 6:00 and dark outside doesn't mean that I can't go running for an hour or two. I definitely prefer running outside, though. That's my favorite way to do it.

Like I was saying, today I pushed myself pretty hard. I ran the 3.26 miles. After that I lifted weights in the gym in the apartment complex. After THAT, I rose the stationary bike for a little over a mile. I think that I did pretty well for just an hour workout. While I was running, though, I decided that it is veyr important that I cross train. Obviously biking or swimming is not going to count toward my 1000 miles of running goal. However, a little cross training will help my workouts to stay unique and keep my body exercising in different ways. I'm going to try to swim at least once every other week... and I WAS riding my bike to campus every day, but as it has gotten colder and my semester has gotten busier, there have been time constraints, which have kept me from riding my bike as often. I still am going to try to ride sometimes, whether it be on my actual bike or on a stationary bicycle. We will see.

I have been looking into getting some pants that are specifically designed for going running. I'm going to buy a pair next week when I get paid again, unless I strangely come across some. lol. I think that will really help my confidence and will help me when I'm running outside, particularly when it is getting cold and more wintery. I'm excited about it. (except for the spending money part, I guess... lol.) I think that it will be a good investment.

I'm really hoping that I stop being so sore. My body isn't used to running so often. I'm going to go read my book about running. lol.

Goal: 1000 mi/ 365 days
So far: 23.84 mi/ 6 days
To go: 976.16 mi/ 359 days