Are you getting tired..

Of me posting about exercising, and running, and races yet? Sorry if you are. :)

Went to the Dr. yesterday and he was a great help. He was pumped for me, but also told me for the type of outcome I am hoping to get, I need to amp it up, and train 4-5 times per week. He showed me the pedometer he uses, and let me play with it. My PCP is like an old friend to me. He is amazing. It took me a large part of my adult life to find someone I adore as much as him, and I pray he never leaves..and if he does, I may have to follow him.

Anyways, the good news is he trains too, and also suffers from knee problems, so he gave me the green light about training as much as I can so that I can build up some good muscle tone around my knee, and get some stronger hammies. He is going to be volunteering at the Eugene Marathon this weekend, and says that the most injuries he sees in his tent are for people not thinking they need to train, and then they end up in the tent with him. So, I am going to take his words as gospel, and train harder. He told me that I will feel the weakness happen when my knee has had enough. He seems to think my body will tell me, but I don't know for sure. I will still play it safe.

And I did. This morning, by 8 am, Matthew, my sister and I were out on the chip trail, hussling our rears. Matthew can haul ass. Pardon my french. He has extra long legs, and he was out of sight for a good portion of our run/walk. I didn't run today. I wasn't feeling it. I need a new knee sleeve. I wanted to see what he could do. He needs practice with his arms, as he runs with them flailing about. I think with time, he will find something useful to do with them, and show good form so that he actually moves faster, and at an even gait. We had a lot of people on the trails this morning, all of them were awesome, and saying good morning, and telling Matthew he was a star.

We ended up doing just over 2 miles. I think it was 2.4 miles according to Dee's pedometer. Matthew was clearly tired, and beat. I didn't want to push him too far on his first run/walk out, so we stopped. We awarded him a lot of free time on the playground near by. I think he is ready for the 5K. He didn't start asking about when we were coming to the end about 5 minutes before mile 2. I think once we are at the actual race, he will feel the momentum for all of the people already there, and all of the additional people cheering him on will make him feel like a super star.

Can I tell you how proud of my son I am? I can't scream to the roof tops enough that my son is a rock star, and if I can intervene with his activity level now, at age 8, I think I have a great chance of him implementing a very active life style. Proud mother moment. I love my kids. I love my son, and I love that he LOVES having this personal time with me.

We took Matthew back home, and then went back out. There is a torn down school near my home that still has a track that they haven't moved yet. Dee and I did 8 laps. That afforded us an additional 2 miles. I ended my morning before 10 am, doing a total of 4 miles today. Do you know how freaking excited I am that I said I am doing something, and I am actually following through? I awarded myself with new exercise capris and new tanks, (from Costco, LOL!) but I had Mike take some before photos of me in my new gear, and the next photo he will take of me will be at the Rum Run, in Portland in exactly one month. I am excited to see the possible change that might happen.

Change is great! All of this fresh air is certainly helping me with my anxiety. It feels so much better to vent it out with pushing myself.