Week 5 Day 2- Knock knock knockin' on Heaven's door...

Whew. Y'all.

I really underestimated just exactly how long 8 minutes was. With the big 2-0 looming in the not so distant future, I didn't give 8 minutes a second thought. Boy was that ever a mistake.

Yesterday looked like this:
walk 5, jog 8, walk 5, jog 8, walk 5

Doesn't look so bad, right? WRONG.

The first 8 minutes were bad, but nothing like the last 8. That 5 minute walk in the middle was the most amazing thing that's ever happened to me. It took me most of that time to get my heart rate back down to something less than crazy.

I wanted to shed some tears when my phone told me to run again. But I ran wogged. For the first 30 seconds I was cautiously optimistic. That optimism quickly faded into a hatred of everything and everyone that surrounded me. My legs were in a numb Jell-O like state, so keeping them moving wasn't so bad. It was the lungs that failed me this time.

There towards the end I was considering how badly I'd be injured if I passed out and face planted on the treadmill.

For the last 5 minutes of the jog the whole breathing through a straw thing returned with a vengeance. Somewhere in that last 3 minutes some jerk walked by and put a kink in my straw, practically cutting off my air supply. It was really bad. That was the first time I really thought I was going to have to give up. But apparently the lack of oxygen going to my brain kept me from thinking about how destroyed my face would be if it kissed the treadmill, so I kept going and finished.

Really, the only thing that carried me to the end was my music. If you're curious, my playlist looks like this:

I Will Rise- Chris Tomlin
Praise You in This Storm- Casting Crowns
Hello My Name Is- Matthew West
Where I Belong- Building 429
Your Love Never Fails- Newsboys
Where I Belong (again)
Hello, My Name Is (again) and finally,
Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone)

There's a good message in all of those that helps me push through. The last song is a beautiful extended version of the original that is a good reminder for me to be thankful to God for allowing me to do this and for Him giving me strength and determination, regardless of how much I'm hating it at the moment.

Needless to say I have little to no hope of completing the solid 20 minutes tomorrow. I am going to give it my best shot, but my level of optimism has plummeted from bleak to hopeless. Wish me luck! I'm going to be needing it!