Week 6 Day 2

Thursday. Brisk five-minute warm-up walk, then: Jog 1 mile (or 10 minutes); walk 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes); jog 1 mile (or 10 minutes).

I decided to take an extra day of rest yesterday. I wasn't feeling so great, number one, and number two, I wanted to give my poor shins another day to try and heal. I even went and got myself some brand new ace bandages and insoles for my shoes.
This program has really done a number on my legs! I think it's because I went from doing next to nothing, to doing a LOT in a very short period of time. Even though it's only three days of workouts, that's three days that I wasn't doing before. Not to mention, I've mostly been running on concrete which can really cause a lot of pain and injury if you're not careful.

I think that's a good thing to keep in mind. It's really important to listen to your body. Pain is your body's way of sending you a signal. My husband says that pain is just the weakness leaving your body - which I partially agree with. Sometimes when you feel pain in one area, your body over-compensates for that pain and adjusts itself accordingly, so you could risk even more injury to other areas. It's great to have that passion and drive to want to keep going, but don't risk injuring yourself further. If you're injured, you can't do anything so take it easy on yourself!

Today's run was great. I felt a LOT better than I did last Saturday. Even though there was a 3-minute walk break in the middle, I felt like I could have kept going to do the two miles without stopping. Keeping my shins wrapped, and my arches supported really did make a difference. I felt really strong, and kept getting bursts of energy so I picked up the pace a little bit each time. 
I started playing this game with myself. I would pick a point just within my view and say, "OK, you just have to make it to that point." Then when I got to that point, I would pick another point and do it again. I just kept celebrating those tiny victories, and before I knew it, one mile was up!
I lost a good bit of energy during the second mile, but when I heard the famous "One minute left!" I sprinted to the finish line. I couldn't believe I had done it! I really feel much stronger and much more confident. I was honestly feeling down on myself this morning, and I thought it was only going to get harder. But again, I continue to be surprised as to what my body is capable of!!