I Prefer Breathing

I am on a mission to lose some weight. After many false starts over the past year or so, it seems to actually be happening this time. My buddy Sprang got me motivated. He has been losing weight like I lose my keys. If you know me and keys, you know that he will soon be a beanpole. For the first time in a long time, I feel like I am controlling the food instead of food controlling me. I confessed in a sermon a couple of months ago that I have realized I am a stress eater. Truth be told, I like to eat anytime.

In addition to eating right, I knew I needed to lace up the running shoes and pound out some miles. The problem is that I have a cold weather/activity induced asthma that makes it difficult to breathe. I begin wheezing so bad it sounds like I have emphazema and I can't get enough Oxygen, and get tired quickly. Not that I can run forever when I can breathe, but breathing helps. So today, I get up, drive over to a 2 mile long bridge that has an area for walkers and joggers, throw on the ipod and start running. There were distance marks every quarter mile so you could track the progress and adjust your pace if you care how fast you are running. I get to the mile mark and am breathing well, no asthma yet, I hit the 2.5 miles mark, and was still running strong. I finished the three mile run faster than I started it. Nothing was different except that I could breathe. No wheezing or raspiness, no light-headedness, nothing, just the ability to get oxygen in the lungs. I prefer breathing.