Alanis could have put this in that one song.

First time ever running (purposefully) with my wife tonight. It was great!

Our friends Stacy and Geoff came over (more on that later) and watched the kiddos so we could go to the track and run. When we got there, there were actual runners running and a bunch of people in the stands, so we got worried. Turns out the kids in the stands were just enjoying a potluck dinner, celebrating their last day of track camp. The adults running were just...adults running.

We walked a warm-up lap and then went our separate ways. Julie's not doing the same training I am, so she just took off...and it was awesome to see her go! She ran four laps in a row (a mile) and it looked effortless! I was super proud of her. She kept at it, too, while I was doing my run.

As I said before, I was worried about my legs because they cramped so bad on Monday, but just as many people told me, they warmed right up! The start was tough, I think because I was worried, but it got better. The last lap, though, was really hard. Wasn't sure I could do it. But, I did. Thank the Lord.

The funny thing was (I used my iPod this time), on my last two laps, two ironic songs came on. The first was "Forward Motion" by Relient K (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LB_B7t7OPl4) which features the line, "I struggle with forward motion...cuz forward motion is harder than it sounds, every time I gain some ground I gotta turn myself around again." Brilliant. Then, David Crowder Band's "Do Not Move" came on (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ov0vAkT84CE, listen with earphones for sure) and I started laughing. "I don't wanna move, I don't think I could...I don't think I should." But then he breaks into, "Breathe in deeper now...breathe in deeper now..." As he sang it, I did it. It was awesome.

The good, no, GREAT news is that even though the last lap was really hard, my legs felt much better than Monday! That was a welcome relief and gives me hope. I figure, the more weight I lose, the easier it will be on my legs and the more my lungs will cooperate. I told Jule I wanted to get an x-ray to make sure my lungs aren't super small.

Overall, great run today. Really glad about it.

BONUS:

Julie's birthday is Saturday, so Geoff and Stacy planned to grill chicken for dinner and make a cake with the kids while we were running, as a surprise. It was my job to make sure Julie didn't make dinner. This morning Stacy called and said, "I just talked to Julie. She said she's making BBQ CHICKEN for dinner!! What are we going to do??" I tried hard to get her to make the chicken tomorrow, and she played along, but it was a little obvious. She still acted surprised when we got home, though. What a gal. Dinner and dessert were delicious! Thanks, Geoff and Stace!