I would love to say it was a wonderful experience, but instead it was a complete disaster. Reluctant doesn't begin to describe the lack of enthusiasm I felt heading to the park after a long eight hour work day. The only thing I had going for me was that the park located near my house is surprisingly beautiful considering it is located in a huge city. I used that as the only motivation I could muster, and finally convinced myself to just do it!
A few minutes into my run, I realized two big things. 1. 92 degrees is awfully hot when you're used to being inside all day. Even more so when you're put of shape, and covered in fat. It didn't seem so bad when it was keeping me warm under bulky sweaters in the winter, but as summer approaches, it's more than the swim suit body dream pushing me to shed the extra "layers" I've been putting on. 2. I broke the cardinal rule of running - stay hydrated. My two work room cups of water hadn't been near enough to get me through a workout and it showed. So half a mile into my run, I realized my options we're keep running and pass out or take it a little easier my first day back. I opted to relax, move off the paved road to the dirt trail and enjoy the scenery. After all, my main goal today was to sweat away some of my stress. Taking the scenic route back to my car had to be good for that, right?
Wrong. I had made this trek with my boyfriend two weeks ago, and the trails seemed pretty easy to navigate. We really enjoyed the pretty trees, small animals, and remoteness we found in the middle of the city. It was also about 20 degrees cooler which helped significantly with the humidity! Imagine how surprised I was when after 10 minutes of walking back to my car, it still looked like I was in the middle of the woods. All of the other runners from when I started were nowhere to be seen, and all I could hear was the rustling of leaves caused by who knows what in the wooded area around me. I remembered the off road trail following the concrete path pretty closely, so looking at my watch to see I had been walking for well over mile left me alarmed that I wasn't back to the parking lot left. Dehydration was starting to leave me weak, and I had no idea how to get home. As I turned to backtrack to my car, I noticed that the path no longer looked like the one I originally followed. My first day back and I was lost along empty trails with my phone back at the car! By the time a found my way back, my mile run had turned into a two mile adventure!
Don't ask me how, but even after all of the misfortunes I felt proud of myself for so many reasons. In about 40 minutes, I had overcome the biggest obstacle of getting started, stayed calm when I wanted to nervously call for help, and finally accomplished something I didn't think I could after moving to a city with few running options. The next time you consider backing out of that workout, remind yourself that in the end it will be worth it!
