So, today was an interesting day. For the first time since my first of two difficult-to-heal injuries – I ran. And it was truly a pathetic thing. A humbling spot, and one I never imagined I’d find myself in again. After all, I’ve run several 5Ks, a few 8Ks, one 10K and a very memorable and torturous half marathon. I’ve been a runner for quite a while. I wasn’t always a runner, though – when I first began my weight loss journey, I couldn’t even walk around the block without stopping to catch my breath. (And cry – but we can just pretend that we never spoke about that, OK? Keep it just between the two of us.) I started walking a block at a time, added a small distance every couple of days, and one day, found I was covering more than seven miles. I could either walk further or start running, so I started running. And until I injured myself, I ran just about every day.
But today was the day I had to start all over again. I went out and started with a warm-up walk, and once I felt comfortable with it, I added in short sprints. While I was trying to power through, and feeling perilously close to death, I wondered how much distance I had covered. I briefly entertained the idea of returning home and then driving the route with my car in order to use what my kids call the “trip tik” – and then I remembered MapMyRun. This site has a wealth of information, from routes that other members have posted, places to map your own run and even a log to record your efforts. There’s also the Google Map Pedometer, which is incredibly cool, and free to boot. Free is always my favorite way to be.
Keep track of your distance. I’ll bet you will become addicted to seeing those numbers jump!