Jogging my memory (day 2)

First off, I've got to say I love the way Michelle writes. She talks about fitness in terms I can relate to, her words say what she knows we all feel as we try to get into an exercise routine. She makes me feel like I can get past all the things that have blocked me from success before.

My task today is pretty easy- pick an activity from the list in the book. I'm choosing running, an exercise that I have a pretty spotty history with.

My Dad was a runner, and when I was young I tried to run with him, but I had my major growth spurt pretty young and was 5'7 by the time I was 11. I was all limbs and my gangly-ness was emphasized when I ran. One time, after a kid's fun run, someone commented that I ran like a baby giraffe, like I was about to trip over my own legs. In Jr. High I was always struggling at the back of the pack when we ran a mile around the track.

After all that, I decided I was done with running.

Then last fall I started getting up early to walk the path around the park. Every once in a while I would jog a bit, and it felt good. The pounding of my heart, the stretch of my long legs- I loved it. However, like every attempt I make to exercise, I gave it up soon after. Fall was becoming winter and it was easy to make excuses about the chilly morning air.

This time I'm hoping to stick with it. I do have to be careful- my Dad ended up with a couple bum knees that ended his running (though they suspected it was all the miles he ran on hard cement paths)- and take care of myself. But I'm pretty excited to wake up early and watch the sun come up as I do laps around the lake.