What a great start to the week!!! Day 31!

So today is a dark, dreary, rainy day.  Not to mention that it's a Monday, bleck!  Due to all of this, and an insomnia night, I really didn't want to get out of bed this morning.  I allowed myself to sleep in some, which may be a mistake but I really do need at least 6 hours of sleep to function well during the day, and finally crawled out of bed at 10:30.  Once up I made my breakfast, went through my morning routine of checking e-mail, Facebook, and tried to figure out what my plan was for the day.  Around noon I decided I would go over to my apartments fitness center and work out for a half hour.  I had no idea how motivated I would be when I got there.  I climbed on one of the elliptical machines and began my half-hour work out with no real goal in mind other than just going for a half-hour...then it happened.  I had just been running with the tempo of my music, slowing when I needed to catch my breath for a moment, but then going right back to my 4.5-5 mph pace.  I looked down to see how I was doing and saw that I had gone a mile in 14 minutes!  All of a sudden I was motivated, I began to think "holy cow you could go 2 miles in the half hour you are here", and "I can't remember ever going a mile in 14 minutes!"  So I pushed myself, I kept pace, I slowed when I needed too, but then kicked it back up, I was going to do two miles in a half hour!  At 29 minutes exactly I hit two miles!  A personal best!



Now I know this story may not sound all that impressive to anyone who is a runner, or athlete.  I mean a 14 minute mile isn't an amazing pace, especially on an elliptical, but for me this is HUGE!  Just last week I was doing a 20 minute mile, and now to have dropped it back to 14 minutes is a big deal!  Not to mention I really don't remember having ever gone a mile, that quickly.  Even in High School gym class when we had to run a mile, I was always the last person to finish, and it always took me most of the class period.  Although I don't remember times from then, I do know that now I'm proud of myself.  I just hope that I can keep this up through the next two weeks!

Why am I focusing so hard on how fast I'm running?  Well I realized that I forgot to tell you last night what three things I was inspired to cross off of my bucket list thanks to Ben Davis over at Ben Does Life.  First I was a little disappointed no one tried to guess what three things I want to do, but hey your loss if you don't want to play the game.  ;-)  So drum roll please, I want to run a marathon, compete in a half-triathlon, and go skinny dipping (lol).  All right I know the last one is a little funny, and embarrassing, but there is a reason.  Allow me to explain why for all of them.

First I want to run a marathon for several reasons.  I want to prove that I can do it for myself, I want to push myself, and it is just something that I have always wanted to do.  This is strange to many members of my family, but for some reason I have always seen marathon runners as being amazing athletes.  Second is the triathlon.  This one really baffles my family.  For me this is the epitome of proving to myself that I can do anything I put my mind too!  I am not a strong/good swimmer, I haven't ridden a bike since middle school, and running is something I used to say I only did if someone was chasing me.  If I can do this though, I know that there is nothing in this world that I can't do.  Now for the one I'm sure no one gets...skinny dipping.  The reason behind this item on my bucket list is that I have never been comfortable with my body.  My entire life I have looked at myself in the mirror and been ashamed, or embarrassed.  So how does skinny dipping help?  Well for some reason I think that it will help me feel more comfortable in my own skin.  In this process I think that it will also help my self-esteem.  So maybe you do understand this one, or maybe not, but you half to laugh at it.  =)

So those are the goals I want to cross off of my bucket list thanks to this journey.  Why not the goal of losing the weight?  Well that is what this entire journey is about, and I'm already in the process of crossing that one off.  So if I can just keep up the work that I did today, through the rest of the week, this will be my best week yet!  :-D