Settled

Until I woke up this morning, I'd decided to continue with the training plan, skipping Week Four entirely and moving right on into Week Five.

This week's plan looks quite doable, physically, and it would get me caught up and able to finish with everyone else on time.

What that tells me is that I really want the training to be done so I can move on and do my own thing.

(I failed to mention yesterday that I have run much longer distances in the past – three half-marathons and the Army 10-Miler. I've taken a long break from running and am using the Up and Running program to ease back into it.)

I learned this morning that there's been a death in my family, in Ohio, which will mean another trip, another blip in the plan, and emotionally I just don't even want to think about overcoming it.

My cousin – just a couple years older than I – has been ill for many months. While his doctors had initially given him (and our family) a lot of hope, in the end they just put him through a long and painful ordeal, trying this and that and the next thing until they'd run out of procedures. He died at home, and is finally at peace.

What I've learned from the short time I've been following the training plan is that I still love to run (it's really jogging, I'm not fast enough to call it running), and that I can run a continuous mile. I can do that with or without a plan.

My husband is fanatical about his daily walk. If he misses his four miles one day he makes up for it with an eight-miler the next. I never want to be that rigid about exercise.

But I want to be consistent about it, and safe. Comfort has always been my racket. If I can get fit(ter) comfortably, then that's the plan for me.

Thanks for your thoughtful comments and encouragement. I really appreciate your taking the time to add your voices to the ones in my head.