The Challenge

So the challenge of participating in a 5K was given and if you've known me for any length of time you know that I never shirk from a challenge.  My mind was thinking about it day and night, trying to convince myself that I could indeed run a 5K, I just need some training beforehand to do so.  But I've never ran more than a few yards at a time...in a row.  I'm. Not. A. Runner.  Apparently that wasn't a good enough answer for my brain.

Damnit.

I started looking online for different training schedules for beginners.  Most (well lets face it, ALL) looked daunting to complete, especially for someone who has never, ever, ever, ever, ever been a runner.  I finally decided on one from the Mayo Clinic.  It was specifically geared to beginner runners wanting to run a 5K at the end of the training.  Just my luck, wouldn't you know that the amount of weeks the training schedule took from that exact day I found that schedule was the exact amount of weeks and days until the day of the biggest holiday 5K run in Seattle, the Jingle Bell Run.  It was fate, right?

So I started the training.  It was SO HARD.  I will be honest, my body did not want to move in that way.  It would constantly give up on me.  I would start to get into a good breathing pattern and then my lungs would say "screw you, I'm going to make you cough uncontrollably and not be able to catch your breath for the next 15 minutes!  HAHAHAHHA!"  Yeah, thanks lungs.  Or it would be my legs that would be going at a good clip, then the muscles would just decide "uh uh, we are not doing that anymore, you are stopping right now!", then all I could do was walk for the next 20 minutes.  

It wasn't that there was anything physically wrong, it's just that my muscles had never been used in this way and they were making it known.  So it was my job, well my minds job, to smooth out the differences and keep my body moving.  I fought through my legs wanting to stop by going a bit slower, I concentrated on my breathing so if I felt like I was going to start having issues I could deal with them instead of feeling frustrated about it.  Everyday I would run or walk, even during the cold, rainy Seattle days I would put on a hoodie and get out in that rain for a run.  Life doesn't stop when it rains, right?

My husband would go on runs with me to encourage me.  He isn't really a runner himself, but he's in better physical shape then I am and could run for long distances without issue.  Or that's at least how it appears to me, he would say otherwise at times.  Having someone to help encourage you through the little improvements you have, to cheer you on when you hit a milestone, to push you that little bit more to get you running a little bit faster or that little bit farther then you had before, to help you realize that you can do so much more than you thought you could.  That type of encouragement makes all the difference in the world and helped to foster my appreciation for this sport and the benefits you get from it.

The weeks counted down and only days were left to the run.  I'm so nervous, but really excited!  It's my first race ever...and I'm gonna run it!

The Beginning

To every situation there is always a back story or some explanation of how you got to where you are now.  I'm 32 and struggling with this new found desire to run.  I say struggling because I've never been an athlete by any stretch of the mind and have a tough time with a training/activity regimen. 

I suppose this is where the back story begins right?  Here goes...

I grew up in sunny California where I was blessed with warm and sunny days for much of the year.  Snow days didn't exist where I lived, but as a kid I used to pray that it would rain so hard they would close the school for the day.  Yeah, no such luck with that.  Despite the perfect climate and plenty of sporting opportunities, I was never encouraged or felt like being physically active.  That unfortunately lead to my being overweight for pretty much all of my life. 

I would instead dedicate my time to school work, music and hanging with family and friends.  PE was always the time of day in class that I dreaded the most.  What injury could I fake so I didn't have to run the lap?  You know what I'm talking about, don't you?  The dreaded lap around the whole playfield at school you had to run before you could participate in that days activity.  They timed it of course, making you feel even worse than just coming in last they had to give you your pitiful time.  Ugh.  I was always that stereotypical fat kid picked last for teams and the first one out because the other team would gang up on me. 

Now don't get me wrong, I was fairly active.  I played basketball in elementary and my first year of high school, though I had to stop because of my knees (thanks for that knees, btw).  Then because of my love of music and playing my instrument, I got involved in my HS marching band.  I know, band geek, whatever.  I must say though, without my heavy involvement with the arts I never would have had the experiences I've had.  Because of marching band I've traveled all over the country playing for my college football and basketball teams (marched in the Rose Bowl even!) and made lifelong friends simply by dedicating my time to music.  But I digress.

Where was I?  Oh yeah, my lack of fitness.  Right.  

So that brings me to adulthood where there are even less opportunities to be active.  There are no team sports you can join without going into one of those play and drink leagues.  You know, the leagues that have dodgeball as one of the sports and they have beer there to drink while you play, sound like fun right? <sarcastic>  Though all I can think of is being back in elementary school again and I just shudder.

Then during one of my meetings for WW (yes, trying to improve my eating habits through a program, but more importantly teaching me about eating healthier) the leader challenged us all to finish a 5K.  A 5K, huh?  Well when I go on my long walks I can easily walk a 5K without even thinking about it or getting tired, so that wouldn't be a physical challenge for me.  What about running it?

Huh?  Nah...that's crazy talk.  Running?  Pppsssshhhhh...

That little seed planted and grew and grew and grew until I couldn't get rid of the thought anymore and all the talking myself out of it had lost its point.  Why not go for it?  I love a challenge in every other aspect of my life, why not with my physical being?  The thought was so overwhelming that I had to find a training schedule to make this mountain that I was thinking of climbing into a molehill of some sort.  I zeroed in on this and made this challenge my own.  It had nothing to do with the challenge from the leader, nothing to do with my past of physical inactivity, it had everything to do with what I wanted to do for me and show that I could do this and break the inactivity cycle I had been a part of for much of my life.

Okay, I'm going to do this...oh boy!

What did I get myself into?  Well that's where my new story begins and the journey that will be documented here so that it can hopefully help those people that want to start something new regardless of their stage of fitness or age they are in their life.  What I've learned more than anything with this challenge is that it is never too late to start something to improve your physical being.  No one is a lost cause and as long as you believe in yourself and keep pushing, you will get to where you want to go.  If anything, I am here to go along the way with you. 

So tie up those laces and let's get outside, the road is calling our name...let's not keep it waiting.