5K Training

I know it's been a while since I've REALLY blogged. Sometimes I start to, but then I get distracted or I decide that what I wanted to say takes too many words so I hit "delete" and walk away. I'm not so sure I want to be vulnerable and lay it all out there, so to speak. But then there's that part of me that wants to be known and heard and thus the struggle ensues. Anyway, all of that to say, I'm going to try and be a little more open (I think).

So along that line, I'm letting you all in on what's been going on in my life for the last 12 weeks or so. In an effort to get back in shape, I began training for a 5K. Following Rachel's advice, I found a 5K training program (online) designed to help beginners like me. It's called "From the Couch to the 5K" often referred to as "C25K". It's a 9 week program that starts with walking and running and slowly moves the trainee to running. At the end of the 9 week program, one should be able to run that 5K (3.1 miles)or for 30 minutes without stopping. Also, this program requires that one run only 3 days a week and that seemed attainable for me.

It was a pretty easy program to follow as it told me each day what to do. Days 1, 3 and 5 were "running" days and it recommended that on Days 2, 4 and 6 I walk or do some other form of cross-training. "Simple enough," I thought.

There was nothing simple about getting my body out there and running, but I committed myself to sticking to it and seeing it through. I found myself praying for strength in order to get through those running moments. There were times I hit that wall and couldn't get through the running, but other times when I pressed through the wall and completed the task before me. When all was said and done, I was surprised that I had many more successes than failures.

The most difficult times for me were when the program dropped the walking altogether in Weeks 8 and 9. I didn't want to move onto the next week if I couldn't complete the current one. So I got hung up on Week 8 and it took me 3 weeks to get to the point where I could run for 28 minutes on all 3 running days.

Then last Monday, I began Week 9, knowing that on the last running day of that week, I would be expeced to run a 5K (or 30 minutes) without stopping. Since I hadn't entered an official 5K race, I mapped out 3.1 miles in my neighborhood and began thinking about what lay ahead of me. I was feeling pretty unsure about my abilities to complete a full 5K so I called up my good friend, Wendy, who is an avid runner, and asked her if she would run along side me. She agreed and met me at my front door Friday morning at 6:30. (How's that for friendship?)

We started out at a pretty good pace, one I was sure I wouldn't be able to keep, and eventually settled into my "barely moving" slower pace. When we hit the half-way mark, I told Wendy we only had a mile and half left. She laughed and said, "You can do anything for a mile and a half, right?"

I rolled my eyes and pressed on, thinking to myself I knew I wasn't going to make it. At the two and a half mile mark, I was still doubting myself, but Wendy just kept encouraging me and telling me how great I was doing (she was lying). She prayed for me and kept right on talking. It was the best gift she could've given me.

When we hit the 3 mile mark, I was barely jogging, but jogging nonetheless. It was at this point that Wendy started talking to me about how to end the race. She told me to think about how I should be carrying my arms and moving my feet. Then, gently she told me how she tries to stand taller and hold in her abs. All the while, we're picking up the pace and I'm trying to learn and respond to her instruction. Before I knew it, we were kicking in the finish. I'm sure it wasn't a sprint for her, but it definitely felt like a sprint to me. And then it was done. Done.

I can't really express the feeling of accomplishment and gratitude I felt at THAT moment, but as I'm writing about it at THIS moment, I am overcome with emotion. I'm so grateful that God allowed me to complete something I started. He gave me a friend to see me through and I feel oh so very blessed.

There's more to this running story, but I'm going to leave it there for now. I apologize for not having pictures of the big day, but even if I did have them, I'm not sure I would post them here. It ain't pretty, ya'll.