but they can live into their hundreds. I know my angst about being so slow is well documented. If you take a half hour to read back over this blog (like I just did AND I crack myself up) you will see many references to my lack of speed. In my head I like to think I'm Usain Bolt. Because he is pretty amazing. But back to the reality of my world. I have come to the conclusion that a large part of my problem is the fact that everyone I know is faster than me. I know there are slower people in the world. I just don't know them personally. And how awkward would it be to wait at an event for a half hour after you finish just to befriend the slower people? I told my running partner we need to recruit some people we know are slower so we can be in the middle of the curve. I just don't know how to go about this. And it doesn't count if you do nothing because of course you would be slower. I will admit to a little competitive streak. Last night I read a book to my youngest about jealousy. She claims she doesn't ever feel jealous, she just feels mad. I tried to explain she probably did feel jealous and I used examples from her life. She still maintained she only felt anger. Next time I will have to go all counselor on her and explain she only feels anger to mute the jealousy, which is a more painful feeling. Maybe she can wrap her 5 year old brain around that. Because I'm still working on it.
Yesterday my running partner and I ran a mile and a half straight (no walk breaks, yes "REAL" running - for all you purists). Our average was 11:00. This is faster than we've ever run. And it's only the second time I've run that average. Toward the end of the run I felt like I was falling (in a good and hallucinogenic way) and I noticed we just kept getting faster and faster. And I knew, for the first time, that I will be able to run faster. Of course this is provided I continue to lose the extra poundage that is "weighing" me down. I love a good pun. Actually, I hate them.
In my trip down memory lane, I noticed I was up to 192 last January. Which means I've lost 18 pounds. And that's in spite of losing and gaining the same ten or so pounds twice last year! I realize a pound and a half a month is slllooooowwww (hence the turtle theme) but it's 18 less pounds than I started with. And it's hard y'all. Losing weight gets harder as you get older. Can you believe it? So not fair. The high point of this whole struggle though is my method of losing this time. I am, wait for it, using diet AND exercise. And because I've been exercising I can actually see changes in my body while waiting for all that excess weight to fall off. And God how I wish it would just fall off. I know it won't. And I know it might take a while. But, like the turtle (or tortoise if you prefer) I am planning to live into my hundreds.
