I think I'm a runner?

So I've started this new health & fitness regime. When I worked full time at UG, I was pretty strong. Now that I'm only there twice a week, and I spend almost every other moment sitting in front of a computer or in a classroom, I'm becoming all weak. Plus, Dan and I are beginning to think about babies in our future, and I figure it'll be easier to have a human living in my body if my body is in shape.

A couple of days ago I blogged about how I've started cooking super healthy meals ahead of time to eat before class. I've been kicking around the idea of running for awhile, but always talk myself out of it. I'm not good at running; besides just being out of shape, I have asthma, which has made it difficult for me to run for any amount of time

for as long as I can remember. I always see people running, and they're just so good at, the idea of running in public makes me feel self-conscious. But I decided to stop with the excuses and just try.

My decision coincided with a super frigid day yesterday, but I didn't want to use any more excuses. So Dan (who has been running for 15 years and is infuriatingly good at it) went out with me for a quick run last night, which was miserable because it was only 9 degrees. We didn't go far at all, the whole loop was only half a mile, but I felt like crap when I got home. I couldn't breathe, I felt sick to my stomach, and I was coughing all night. But I did get some major endorphins, and I got over what may be the toughest hurdle, starting.

We went back out tonight, for a mile this time. I want to start slowly so I don't injure myself. It wasn't as cold, so I was able to run more and walk less, but I still did a fair amount of walking. The mile took me about 12 minutes, which is about what I used to run during gym class. I used an inhaler before I went out, so while I couldn't breathe well during the run (that picture above is a pretty accurate rendition of what I looked like), once I got home I felt a lot better than I did last night. I feel really good, these endorphins are awesome. Hopefully, I can stay motivated to keep running. It's hard now, but it will only get easier, right?

I'm taking a break tomorrow. For now, I'll aim for 3-4 days a week. Tonight I got a yoga dvd to do on the days that I don't run, because I think it'll be good to focus on wellness a little every day. I need to do more for myself than just study all the time. I've never tried yoga, but I'm always super stressed out and can't ever sleep, so it seemed like a good choice.