A few months back I decided I wanted to get in shape.
Like for real this time.
No more babies on the horizon, no more excuses.
Because while my age continues to chug right along, my metabolism isn't keeping pace like it used to. If I'm honest, this desire has always been there, the motivation to do anything about it has been the lacking component.
I decided I wanted to give running a whirl.
In my mind, people that run seem to truly enjoy it.
They are serious about their sport.
They look fit, and lets face it, hand-eye coordination isn't really necessary.
However, I know my excuses well enough to know that I needed a goal, something to force me to stick with it. I have an amazing ability to talk myself out of/justify most anything.
I wanted to run a race.
Tim encouraged me, and promised me that if I trained, he would run a race with me.
Done. The power of a husbands support.
We hopped online and saw that the Calvin Classic 5k would take place the end of April.
Our alma mater, and the place we first met.
This was indeed our race.
And so the training began.
And it was brutal on my out of shape body.
The first time Tim took me out for a run, I made it all of 1/3 of a mile...and came home gasping, on the verge of puking, certain I was having a heart attack, and glaring at Tim for not even being winded.
The next time wasn't much better.
But as the weeks widdled away, I slowly began to see improvement.
I could make it half way down our road without stopping.
I could make it to the stop sign at the corner. I could make it to the corner, and then back home again. etc. etc.
And I learned a few tricks along the way....like always make sure your pants are tight enough around your waist, or they will fall down while running. Never pull out every swear word you know on the dog for tripping you, while listening to your ipod at maxed out volume.
And most importantly, never look at your shadow while running if you're as awkward as me :)
Well, a bit into the training, Sydney joined the girls running club at school. As it turns out, the culmination of their program is running in the Calvin Classic. Pretty cool the way that one worked out. Competitive Austin trained at school during recess mileage club, and my dear friend and runner Cara also signed up to run.
And as the race drew closer, I gained confidence.
I began to feel like I was actually ready.
It wouldn't come easy for me, but I knew that I could actually do this.
And I really looked forward to it!
I began to work out all the important details in my head...like how I'd grab my water off the table while running....the way I'd seen real runners in real races do before.
And so the training began.
And it was brutal on my out of shape body.
The first time Tim took me out for a run, I made it all of 1/3 of a mile...and came home gasping, on the verge of puking, certain I was having a heart attack, and glaring at Tim for not even being winded.
The next time wasn't much better.
But as the weeks widdled away, I slowly began to see improvement.
I could make it half way down our road without stopping.
I could make it to the stop sign at the corner. I could make it to the corner, and then back home again. etc. etc.
And I learned a few tricks along the way....like always make sure your pants are tight enough around your waist, or they will fall down while running. Never pull out every swear word you know on the dog for tripping you, while listening to your ipod at maxed out volume.
And most importantly, never look at your shadow while running if you're as awkward as me :)
Well, a bit into the training, Sydney joined the girls running club at school. As it turns out, the culmination of their program is running in the Calvin Classic. Pretty cool the way that one worked out. Competitive Austin trained at school during recess mileage club, and my dear friend and runner Cara also signed up to run.
And as the race drew closer, I gained confidence.
I began to feel like I was actually ready.
It wouldn't come easy for me, but I knew that I could actually do this.
And I really looked forward to it!
I began to work out all the important details in my head...like how I'd grab my water off the table while running....the way I'd seen real runners in real races do before.
Race Day was finally upon us.
We awoke to snowflakes swirling about outside.
Not really how it played out in my dreams, but we rolled with it.
We grabbled our mittens and hats and headed out to Calvin.
We set up a meeting place for Austin to find us at the end. He was determined to take off and try to win this thing. And he did well! 24 min 10 seconds, he placed 190 out of 1300... 5th in his age group.
We got in line with the 1300 other runners and took off.
Wearing my number and official yellow moisture wicking gear, it felt good to be a part of such a race. And it was fun to run through our old stomping grounds... past the dorm where Tim and I met, nearly 18 years ago.
I think the cold, and the momentum of keeping pace with the others (ie.Tim) tired me out quicker than usual. Between miles 1 and 2, Tim said he could see that foggy look in my eyes... but determined, I pressed forward.
And while my water trick backfired, and spilled down the front of me...we did it!
I finished a 5k.
In 30mins and 39 seconds....598th place.
Average, which was right where I was aiming to be :)
True to his word, Tim stuck by me through the whole race...until the last quarter mile when I gave him the go ahead to take off...and he sprinted out of there to the finish.
3 comments:
You guys are great!! I love the idea of a tradition:)
Pretty cool! Proud of you that you actually stuck it through to the end and accomplished your "dream". I guess I'm still in the dreaming stage :)
LOVE the pics. What a transformation our little group is having with all the running. :)
Good Job on the Classic!!
Thanks so much for encouraging me in my pursuits!
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