Last week, on the second day I was scheduled to run, I woke up with shin splints that hurt too badly almost to even walk. It was terrible. So I had to put running on hold, pop lots of Ibuprophen, do lots of stretching, and shove an ice pack up the leg of my jeggings while sitting at my desk at work. (Yes, I wear jeggings. Don't judge.)

So after taking a week off, I started up week 2 again on Tuesday. I was expecting it to be hard. I was expecting that week off to put me in even worse running shape than I was in before. But, I was pleasantly surprised. The running stretches were easier-although my shins/calves were feeling it, I ran faster and was still able to carry on a conversation. When it came time to walk, I didn't feel like I needed to walk slowly to catch my breath. And afterwards, I felt so good that I went straight to an hour of Zumba.

My shins are hurting again today, but Tuesday was rejuvenating. I'm excited to start running longer, and walking less. I'm aware that it won't be easy, but it no longer seems out of reach. Somebody will probably have to remind me that I felt this way several times over the next few weeks, though, as I'm sure I won't always feel this positive.

But I really hope that I can hold onto this motivation, because it feels fantastic.