Empowering

Between sessions on Saturday, we were invited to go "run around the mountain" that is close to us. We thought this would be fun and a nice change to our usual workouts. HA! I would have been better off to wear my hiking boots instead of my running shoes. Jake, Glade, Stephen, Sammie and I all took off from the bottom, which wasn't too bad. About a quarter mile in, it turns into sort of like a river bed full of pointy rocks as the trail. Not to mention the upwards part of this equation. Anytime there was a smooth part of the trail, we would run, but those were few and far between. Jake and Glade were way ahead of us. Stephen and I decided to just hike it and not worry about the run. I was breathing as hard as if I were running anyway. At one point, the sign read "Steep and dangerous trail ahead". Run??? It took us about 25 minutes to get to the top. The view was beautiful. Glade, Jake and Sammie had gone back down the other side, which were actual trails you could run on, but Stephen and I decided to just hike back down the way we came. We did find one trail that veered off and was nice to run on. The round trip was just over an hour. The weather was beautiful and breezy. Had it not been, I may have been really grouchy. I hate hiking. This however, was a workout and I could see the benefit of that so I didn't really mind.

Now for the empowering part. While I was running on the good trail, I felt so strong and capable. A year ago, I could have never done this. I wanted to run. We weren't just trotting either, we were running and it felt so good! I'm not by any means at the weight or physique I should be, but I'm healthy and my body likes to do that stuff. I just love how it feels to be able to accomplish things and not feel like you might die doing it! Thanks Jake, for taking me out of my comfort zone.