Overcoming running obstacles

Ran 3 miles in 37 min nonstop and swam 1km today. This is the best I have done so far. Tomorrow I am hoping to swim and bike after work and then run again before I go to work tomorrow night. Something awesome happened in Canada where it all just clicked for me with running. I will cut and paste my journal entry below. I am pleased I have overcome that hump running. When I began a month ago I could not make it past 1/4 mile without feeling like I had asthma and absolutely hating the process. I ran a mile yesterday while we were driving back from Canada. I had to get out of that car and move! But it was a hard mile so I was not sure if I could actually do the 3 again today. I did and I am happy. Off to work i go now....

"We came back to the hotel and the kids went to bed. James jogged along the Galloping Goose trail [In Victoria, BC]. It was getting late so I decided to jog at the health club with a small track. This is really incredible. It was small track on the roof of the club. I could see Victoria. I jogged a few laps not knowing how long they were nor how many added up to what. So I started with the goal of 8 laps. That came easily so I upped it to 12 and continued to increase in increments of 3. Running has been such a challenge for me but things were falling into place, or else this was a REALLY small track and I am running at a REALLY slow pace. My breaths were in sync with my steps and I was feeling like I was meditating. I was at 24 laps and still had a lot of energy. I told myself go to 30 and I’d be finished. 30 came and went I wanted more. It was easy. I was not out of breath and I had a lot of energy (probably from all of the food and sweets I have been indulging in this week!!!). How about 40, 45? 45 rolls around. Well now I must do 50. it sounds better and I can keep going. I felt great, proud and knew I had moved past something here. I knew I had gone further than I ever have without stopping. I don’t know how far, maybe only a mile. But I had not run a straight mile nonstop since high school. I whine and complain at ¼ - ½ mile and work through the rest stopping and starting. I found that “happy place” that runners seem to find. The endorphins were here and I was loving the challenge of how far I could push myself. I wasn’t really even pushing yet, just playing a game really. 50 rolled around and it was getting late. I did 50 laps in 35 minutes. I walked a lap and oh my! There were feelings or lack thereof in my legs I have never felt. My thighs were like play-doh and it was hard to walk. But I was thrilled. I went down and asked the worker if she knew the distance of the track. I am thinking 50 laps = 1 mile. She asks her manager. 10 laps = 1km. So I do the math. So 50 laps = 5 km. That’s a 5K. That’s 3 miles!!!!!! That is what I have to do for the triathlon. I never ever thought I could run 3 miles nonstop. I have not run past ½ mile nonstop. I felt elated, like I had won a contest. I ran back to the hotel to tell James. He was happy and told me he never had any doubt I could do it. I was still shocked. The thing that was really amazing is I could have gone further. It was only time that stopped me. I wanted to get back to see James and it was almost 10pm. The club closed at 10. James has been thinking of entering a 5 or 10 K in a few weeks. After tonight I decided to enter the 5 K. I just hope I can reproduce what I did."