Today was a bizarre day for weather where we live. Normally it is cold in February - we must wear jackets at least. However, today at recess we were talking about how unseasonably warm it was. Most of my students took their jackets off. I thought to myself what a wonderful day it would be for a run.
Let me back-track a little. About three years ago, I started the Couch to 5K program with two of my closest friends. I WAS NOT A RUNNER! In fact, in high school I chose to play tennis because that was the one sport that you didn't have to "run". I mean you do run, but while you are playing it is fun, so you don't realize you are running. All the other sports you had to run as part of the practice. Running just was not something I enjoyed doing, and distance running was out of the question!
Anyway, my friends and I wanted to get in better shape, so we decided to train in the evenings after work using C25K. I had never heard of the program before. It is a way to ease yourself into running. It's a 9-week program that alternates walking and running for 3 days a week. Eventually you begin running more than walking, and soon you run the entire 5K.
At first I thought, there is no way I am going to be able to do this. I don't like running, and I am not sure if I will even be physically able to run. (I was born with a birth defect - I have no joint in my ankle where you do. Doctors told me I would never run.) I'm not going to lie. It was hard. I wanted to quit at times, but I pushed myself every day, and every day I was able to run a little farther than the day before. By the end of the program I was running 5K! I loved it! I'm still not a long distance runner. The only way I will ever run more than 5K is if I see Matthew McConaughey at the other end of the beach. ;)
Shortly after I began running, I got pregnant, and I quit all heavy physical activity for fear that it would harm the baby. I ate right, did very little exercising, and still we lost that baby. (But you all know about that, and if not, it is in another blog. :))
I didn't run for a while, but then I remembered how much I loved it. So I started running a little. Not much though because at this point it was getting to be a hot summer in the south. Soon we found out I was pregnant with the most precious little girl to ever live! Once again I gave up running.
Fast forward to now. I am tired of complaining about my post-baby body, but doing nothing to get back to where I was before. Granted, I never looked like Heidi Klum, nor do I think I ever will, but I certainly won't get any closer eating ice cream and watching television. I simply want to feel confident in my own skin again.
After my run today I came in the house and told Austin I remember how much I loved running, and I realize how much I have missed it. Hopefully I will continue on this journey to a better me, and I am hoping that the weather won't get to cold for me to continue getting off the couch. :)
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