Runner, Runner

Seventy-five degrees, a nice breeze, blue skies. Here in southwest Florida that’s a perfect beach day, especially after a couple of weeks worth of rain. So, what was I doing at 6:45 this morning instead of prepping for some fun in the sun or a nice relaxing day?

I was slipping into my compression pants and lacing up my asics, because it’s race day, people.

When I first started this blog I talked about how I was training for a 5K and how much I hated running. Like, I hated it. I mean, a lot.

It’s been a long few months since I started the actually training, which really just consisted of running. I didn’t throw in any weights or core training because, let’s be real here, running is enough for me. (Remember that blog about no time? Yeah.)

I used the Couch to 5K app to train because it tells you when to run and how long to run. It’s a great app to help build endurance, which I did. It had been many, many years since I’d even though about running (junior year of high school, to be exact), so this was a big step for me. The app even posts your workouts to Facebook, which is how I got involved in the first place.

I don’t know which one of them started it, but before I knew it Lisa, Michelle, and I were signed up for our first 5K (Run or Dye, November 16^th) and in full training. Thanks to the posts on Facebook we were able to keep up with each other. You know, since it was summer and we’re teachers and yay, no school. That just means we weren’t able to see each other face to face to keep each other accountable.

Virtual training partners. It was awesome.

Me and my buddies Lisa and Michelle after our race. 

Well, we thought it was awesome; other people might have been incredibly annoyed. I don’t really care about them, though. It was like having my own little cheering section each time I put myself out there. I knew that I would post it after the workout and someone would be proud of me, someone would cheer me on, someone would motivate me. I also had my sister as a real-life training partner and someone to yell at me or for me to yell at. Which one of us needed the motivation depended on the day.

Motivation is key here, people.

It was so amazing to have your friends look out for you, even if they weren’t training, too. When school started and people started asking how it was going, I was even more motivated.

The truth is…I like running.

After my horrifying time with cross country, I never thought I’d say that.

Running is awesome. You can let your mind go, and it’s just you, your feet, and the road. If you get a good song (personally I love running to Mumford & Sons) and a good pace, that is the best feeling in the world. When I managed to run thirty minutes for the first time I almost cried. And, while three miles might not seem like that much to someone else, when you’ve worked your butt off for four months, that three miles is your Mt. Everest.

Today, I climbed my Everest. Today, I completed my first 5K.

That's me on top of the bridge. Cool, yeah? 

See, after I started the training a friend of mine noticed and mentioned the Pink Heals (Pinktoberfest) run/walk for cancer. Well, how can you pass that up?

So, my training buddies, virtual and real-life, (and a good friend) signed up.

And we rocked it, y’all.

We had a great time, ran for a good cause, and are already geared up for next time.

Personally, I can’t wait. 

My real-life running buddy and sister.