W2D3 - Pace myself

I took the afternoon off from work to enjoy the nice weather while it lasts and look up a route in the national park nearby to do my runs in a more pleasant surrounding.

I found a gorgeous 4km route that is just the right length to do a complete exercise including warm-up and cool down. And it is so nice and quiet there! There were hardly any people around which made the run a ton more enjoyable for me.

Like I said before, it's not just getting my ass in gear, I'm also trying to overcome my shyness and self-conscience. I have a hard time running where a lot of people can see me.

This was perfect.

And because I was having such a hard time on wednesday I decided to take a lower pace. Guess what, that was my problem all along. I thought I was jogging as slow as I could. Nah, I was pushing it. Not good when you're out of shape. So I took it down to 75% of my previous pace and it was so nice!

I felt great while running, concentrating on my breathing and on not going too fast. I had a little bit of trouble at the second interval, but that was because it ended up being in a little hilly area of the route.

I felt like I was on fire!

I still had plenty of energy left by the sixth interval that I paced up and completely finished it.

When I came home I didn't feel exhausted, completely the opposite, I felt refreshed and energized. I actually ended up cleaning the house and doing the laundry before I hit the shower!

I enjoyed myself during the run!

I was still feeling great after the run!

I'm proud of still being on it, considering my notorious record of abandoning exercise after only a week of trying it.

If weather permits I'm going to take a 5 mile walk in another area of the national park. Just a simple walk, no straining myself, but just enjoying nature and clearing my head. I'm actually looking forward to getting off my butt and out of the door in the scary wide open.

Sunday I will do W3D1, and I'll definitely do it in the forest again, it was awesome.