After a couple days off due to a busy Wednesday and recuperating Thursday, I made it back out to Beckemeyer today and was lucky enough to have some company. Mary and Grace were nice enough to join me on the track as I continue to get my wind back before the Big Dawg Dare on July 19. Mary isn't much of a runner, but she loves to walk and Grace has inherited that trait, although her laps are always from the comfort of her stroller.
As we have done many times before, we scooped Grace up after her nap and headed out for a walk to stave off any post-slumber grouchiness. It almost always works, with a cup of water and some animal crackers added in to sweeten the pot. Today's plan was a little different from our usual jaunts, where Mary and I take time to catch up on our helter skelter lives. Today I would walk with Mary and Grace until the straightaways, which I would run. I would the turn around and run back, joining my girls until the next straightaway.
The first part went really well, but the second running part not so much. I ended up just walking back to Mary and Grace, which gave me some extra time to regroup before the next run. This meant that I was doing basically the same amount of running, but a little more walking. Besides the benefit of not hyperventilating, the extra walking time also allowed me extra time to talk to Mary, which I consider as important to my mental health as running is to my physical health. Nothing brightens my day more than hearing about hers'.
The chats between runs also helped reinforce why I am doing this. At 33 years old and almost 260 pounds, it was time for me to make a change in my lifestyle before it was too late. High blood pressure, high cholesterol and a high number on the scale spell nothing but trouble if left alone. I will not be one of those people who misses their 20th anniversary because they are six feet under due to poor health choices. I will not be the one to miss his daughter's wedding because he's too sick to get out of bed, or worse.
What I will be is dedicated to becoming more healthy. I'll probably never be a marathoner or a gym rat, but I'll be damned if I'm not going to be around for Mary and Grace.
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