Yesterday's run was fabulous! I decided to add a little extra warm-up before my actual run, so I walked for about another 10 minutes before I began. Because it's so hot lately I've started carrying a small bottle of water. It was pretty nasty and warm by the time I got home, but hey - water is water.

I thought for sure that it would be tough yesterday with the heat, but I actually felt really great. In fact, I pushed myself a little harder and ran an extra 3/10 of a mile. Stretching my calves and quads in between my running and walking has been a huge help in keeping me going every day. I've been doing really well listening to my body, and not over-extending myself just because I'm stressed out. That alone is a huge step for me, because I have a tendancy to just "go" until I can't anymore when I'm faced with any sort of stress.

I've come up with a schedule for my running as well, and because I'm actually enjoying this time I have NO intention of not following it. I know I have to put some rest time in (I guess that means I also have to learn how to rest), and I know that some days are going to be very hard. Here's the tentative schedule I've come up with, and of course it'll be adjusted as I start seeing progress with my distance/endurance:

Monday/Wednesday/Friday - Run 1 mile; walk 1/4 mile; sprints 3/4 mile
Tuesday/Thursday/Saturday - Run, um...until I can't. Then walk at least 1/2 mile.
Sunday - Rest day!

I know it seems weird that I'm going by distance and not run time, but I feel like if I'm focusing on a stopwatch I'm not going to make any progress. For me, just following the road and looking ahead is enough to keep me going. Timing my mile perhaps once a week will be plenty for me. Perhaps I can take my Saturday runs to a local track with a stopwatch.

Looking forward to tonight!