Where to start?

I have like a zillion different topics floating around my head right now! There is my run yesterday, this breathing technique I read about, the fear I have of my 6-miler tomorrow and then the difference a few pounds can make. I guess I'll go in that order :)

My run - Outdoors! Beautiful day yesterday! Great for walking and shopping, not so great for running though. Don't get me wrong...not BAD for running, but just not so great! Why? Well, first, the wind! Holy moly! It wasn't so bad a first. That first mile was great, I'd found my groove, was window shopping my way down Damen, good stuff. Oh yeah! Totally off-topic, as I was running, I saw that they opened a knitting shop on Damen 2 blocks from my place!! I am so stoked! Whoa, I don't use that word...weird. But yeah, not sure when it opened, but saw it for the first time yesterday!! Woo Hoo! Okay, running. I turned and started running east and was still good. Until I got across the Chicago River, that is. Hello, wind gusts! Totally killed my rhythm! And I had a heck of a time finding it again, just as I'd be getting there another huge gust would blow me down. Then, there was the temperature. When the wind wasn't blowing and you were in the sunlight, it was a little warm for me. But, I made it through! Even felt a little guilty about waiting for stop lights so I tacked on an additional 3 minutes to make up for them.

I mapped my route in Google Earth this morning and found that based on my watch time and the mileage, I'm running much faster outside than I am on the treadmill. Like a minute faster per mile! I told you those stupid treadmills in my gym are hard!!!

Breathing 3:2 - So, I read about this breathing technique that says you inhale for 3 steps, then exhale for 2 steps. It's supposed to even out the impact on your body because you hit the ground harder or something while you exhale and if you are always doing it on the same foot, well, I suppose its not good. But, my guess is that it hasn't killed anyone yet. Whatevers, I thought I'd give it a try anyway. The first thing I found it that it makes me breath faster than I would on my own. Which is weird. I also found that I naturally exhale longer than I inhale, which is the opposite of what this does. This leads me to my final finding that if I didn't concentrate on it, I quickly resorted back to my natural rhythm. Anyone heard of this technique? Is it worth it to try to learn to do it all the time? The upside is that I was concetrating so hard on that, that I didn't concentrate on how hard my run was feeling :)

6 Miles - So, tomorrow is 6 miles. If you had told me when I started back to running that I'd be running 6 miles in 3 weeks, I'd have laughed. But, here I am, facing that exact scenario. Hmmmm. I'm scared. In all honesty, running my mileage on the lake brings back bad memories. The thought of going out there and getting on that same route AGAIN, just feels yucky. And again, I've hardly run outside yet this season. And of course, do I have 6 miles in me? I think I might. It's possible. And it would be totally worth it to walk back to the car all sweaty and hot, just knowing that I once again triumphed over the me that was last year. But that doesn't make it any less scary!

A few pounds - That's all I've lost in the 5 or 6 weeks that I've been back to working out. At first the scale wouldn't budge and I thought I might have to throw it out the window. But, then, despite the lack of support from that old thing, I did notice that my clothes were starting to feel a little less tight. Something must have been moving and changing inside there somewhere. Now, the scale seems to be on the move, albeit slow, but its amazing how much different I feel! I'm not trying to hide under all those winter sweaters anymore. I can actually suck in my belly and make it go flat again! Yeeeeeessss! Granted, I'm also pretty sure I've lost half of my butt already too...but, we must make sacrifices here, people! The most amazing part though is how I just feel so much leaner, even though I'm not. I know its probably just the success of running that is giving me confidence, but I swear I walk taller. It is such a lovely feeling!