Folks...today is a special day!
Today...I graduated from Couch to 5k!!!!!!!!!!
My average pace is a 14:00 mile (shut up! I told you I was slow) but I am moving! I am pretty sure most people can walk faster than I run, but hey...I'm running. A penguin in the truest sense of the word, I've suffered through soreness, shin splints, and groin pain along this journey.
And yeah...there was even a lil self- doubt thrown in for good measure.
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| yeah. it's early. |
Next up-
a) matching my pace to my distance (I am actually running 2.7 miles, not the 3.1 of a 5k).
b) slowly increasing the time that I run (which will probably happen from above).
c) running my first 5k (in the fall- I can't deal with summer heat)
d) one day thinking more about speed
Go, me!
Folks...look at me. If I can do this, anyone can. I hated running and thought it was a stupid tortuous exercise for freaks of nature. I got winded walking to the third floor of our house. While anyone could see that running is great exercise, I couldn't understand the allure.
Now I get it.
Like any good novice I'll share what helped me:
1) I never gave up. It was a decision. I kept reading that when training properly, running is mind over matter- and it was.
2) I got fitted for shoes and inserts at a pro shop. This is sort of a big deal if you want to stay with this running thing.I have a neutral stride and wear these with an insert.
3) I tried to look like a runner. I bought a coupla pieces of performance gear - mostly from TJ Maxx. They really helped keep me a) warm, when I was just starting out on those April mornings; b) cool now that it's turned to Hell's Oven in the Northeast. As a big- chested girl a special bra was a must.
4) I read. Black Girls Run was especially helpful, especially when I first started. Many people are not "used" to seeing a black woman running. I'd been on the receiving end of lewd comments and even all out gawking in previous attempts at outside exercise, and so getting other perspectives was a big deal. Tina, Spiffy, Kate, JG were all so helpful in helping me get motivated and not quit.
Okay, that's all...course now I'll have to pause running, so who knows where I'll be fitness-wise when I return in a couple of weeks. But I'll keepya updated!
xoxo,
13 (the runner)
