5k

For years I would watch joggers from my car. Out loud I made fun of them. Inside, I envied their easy stride, swinging pony tails, and sweaty faces. I wanted to be them.

But running at 200, 220, 240, 250 pounds is problematic to say the least. Especially when walking is challenging. Running? yeah, not so much.

So when I began losing weight, one of the first things I put as a goal was to run a 5k. My trainer never really understood WHY that was so important and to be fair, it was hard to put into words, that I wanted to be that beautiful woman running along the side of the road, lost in her own world, feeling the pounding pavement and moving so effortlessly through space.

As I began losing weight, running became more and more of a possibility. Using the C25K program, I would faithfully get out on the track and churn out week 1, then week 2, and then somewhere around week 3, I'd get injured, again. It happened so many times, that eventually I gave up on that goal.

This June a fellow gym member asked me if I wanted to run with her. Our first mile (as documented on my Nike app) was 14 minutes - a combination of walking and running.  We started running 2 - 3 times a week and very gradually our pace dropped to 13, 12:30, 12:00 and then into the 11:00's.
We talked about maybe, possibly doing a race - we were both so nervous. What if we were last? What if we couldn't do it?

Finally, I said "So what!!!" to all of our questions and signed us up.

And because you know where this is going....on October 26, I ran my first 5k!

And then my second on November 2

And then my third on November 9

Yeah, 3 in 3 weeks. That's a bit cray-cray I know.

While I do not for a moment think I look beautiful when I run, I hope that I look like I'm enjoying it, because I am. Moving through space, feeling the air, loving the time outside.

I run, because I can. 

Thoughts to take with me today: Dream big