Seeing Results !!!

OK big happy dance for running 20 minutes twice separated by 4.5 minutes of walking!!! Seeing the progress in my running is amazing! It really thrills me, and makes me curious to see where I can go with it all. However it is the progress I note in my every day life that makes me determined to continue running/exercising a very long time. Some of the rewards:

• My posture is so improved! As a PT I know the importance of good posture for all our body systems. And I can feel my improved posture. I can tell I am standing taller, and I feel confident and look better.
• I can run when necessary! I noticed this at the fair this weekend. On Saturday I needed to get some paperwork from one side of the parking lot to another. The faster it got there the better. I suddenly thought, "I'll just jog down there." So I jogged down and wasn't even slightly puffed (last yr I wouldn't have even considered running the length of the parking lot) Similarly on Sunday I jogged the length of the exhibit hall several different times when helping clean up.
• Muscle control! Ok I have an advantage here. I know (or at least used to know ;) where every muscle in the body is and what it does. But now I can actually feel the muscles in my body and make them work. Especially in my upper back, abs, and hips (the core). So lifting and toting is so much easier especially my kids and all that stuff at the fair. And proper muscle control means less soreness and injury.
• I don't feel "fat" anymore. I have only lost 8 lbs. (Or I have lost 8 lbs!) But I have toned up so much that I just don't feel like I look heavy anymore. I am still 8 lbs over my max healthy weight, but in the right clothes I don't look heavy. I wore a skirt yesterday I haven't been able to wear for years! (A classic wrap around I love to wear.)

I can't attribute all of this to running. I have been toning 3-4 times a week. But I know running works my core as well. In fact running 20 minutes I can tell. At about 15 minutes I start to get challenged. My legs and lungs are doing fine, but my middle (abs/hips) starts to struggle to keep decent form. So I decided to get back to my pilates DVD, since it is so core focused. What was really cool is that I am so much better at pilates now. I have done this DVD for several brief stints in the past. It is a beginners program, but has 2 different levels for beginners. Usually I was doing the easier level. Now, w/ the exception of teasers, I can do the harder versions of all the exercises even though I haven't specifically done pilates in a long time. I was just delighted, singing to myself "I can do the seal, woo woo woo."