My Friend, Jeff Galloway Teaches Me to Love My Slow Ass.........

I do not like cold weather.  Not one bit.  I made a deal with myself that I didn't have to run in the mornings if it was under 40 degrees. And it's been straight up freezing in Arizona for the last couple of weeks.  So between the subarctic weather and starting the 40 day yoga challenge, I haven't run in over 10 days.  But I really wanted to try the Lotus Run class at my yoga studio.  The class description said that it was running mixed with yoga poses.  It was very specific in saying it was for all skill levels including beginners (I don't go to any class that doesn't declare it's love for beginners).
When I got there, I chatted with the teacher, who told me she had fallen while hiking yesterday so she felt like it was going to be a short run today since she was one big bruise all up her left side.  (Is it wrong that my heart jumped in happiness over someone's fall?).  Two other girls joined us, and they looked normal, but then of course Super Marathon Man had to come in.  Everyone knows him, wearing his running shorts over his tights, bright green PF Changs marathon shirt, and all the iPod accessories strapped up his arm. The teacher mentioned that there were some beginners in our class, and he said that was fine as he had already run a few miles before arriving (of course he had).  We did a few warrior poses and off we went. 
I don't run unless my friend, Jeff Galloway is coaching me (yes, I believe that he made his app just for ME and that he is speaking specifically to ME),  so I began following his instructions for my walk/run intervals, and I immediately fell behind.  Like way behind. Like, so far back that the teacher said she was worried I would be kidnapped or attacked by a javelina, so she kept jogging back to check in on me.  I told her I was fine and she should feel free to go on without me. But she kept coming back, trying to encourage the pokey little puppy.
I finally looked at her and said, "You know, I'm fine.  I know I'm a beginner and I'm really comfortable with where I am."  She looked a little shocked and said it made her feel bad to have me so far back.  I said, "I've lost 30 pounds in the last six months, I know I'm a work in progress, and I'm really comfortable with where I am.".  I told her that I was following Jeff Galloway's program and it turned out she was a big fan of his also, so we chatted about that and off she ran to catch up with the others. 
But here's the funny thing, I was bringing up the rear for the first half of the run  but on the home stretch, I looked up and I was only a few yards behind the other girls, and then I pulled ahead of them for the remainder of the run. And that felt great.
This is exactly what my friend, Jeff Galloway says, by doing walk/run intervals, you are much less likely to get injured and you are much more likely to finish strong, and not run out of steam towards the end of your run.
These girls ran fast in the beginning and then they got tired and were unable to sustain their pace.  Me and my friend, Jeff Galloway were the tortoise in this race (except Marathon Man was the rabbit on crack, he had left all of us behind and wasn't looking back.).
No, I couldn't do the step ups on the high benches, but my standing triangle was amazing.  I couldn't do a straight line of hops, but I can fold myself in half like nobody's business.
My point is, that after six months of yoga, and lots of therapy, I'm getting comfortable with my body.  I can't do everything perfectly, but I can do a lot of things really well. 

If you are reading my ramblings, and you take anything away from it, I hope it's that anything you are doing to get your body healthy is awesome, and you should feel great about where you are in this moment.  Don't compare yourselves to anyone around you, don't compare your progress to anyone else's, just take pride in every step you take towards a healthier life.