Baby steps make for BIG victories

So, I ran my first ever 5K race on Saturday. I woke up super early to make sure I had time to eat a healthy breakfast. I wanted to make sure I ate early enough that I wasn't feeling it jiggle around in my stomach while I was running. After I ate, got dressed and got ready I went to pick up one of my friends who wanted to walk the 5K. We then met my friend/running buddy Lynn and her husband there. It was FREEZING!!!! I mean REALLY FREEZING. It was 35 degrees and windier than a Texas Twister in the middle of March. Ok, maybe that's stretching it, but seriously, it was windy.

Now mind you up until this point I had been pacing about a 13-14 minute mile (I am still in the run/walk stage, more running than walking but still...pretty slow). I wanted to make sure I had a realistic goal so I decided my goal was to finish the race in 45 minutes. Ok, for those of you whom running comes easily for, you probably think that time is silly, but for people like me it's a feat. So here I am thinking "Ok, if I RUN a 13 minute mile and knowing I will probably be walking some (up the hills mostly) then hopefully I can finish in 45 minutes." Granted I didn't thoroughly calculate what my time should have been based on my average pace but for whatever reason 45 minutes is what I had set in my head.

So after waiting and waiting and waiting some more in the freezing cold the race finally begins and I am running my little heart out. Just a pitter pattering away, ok well maybe more like Ka-thump ka-thumping away but you get the drift. Anyway, as I am running I am thinking to my self, "This isn't so bad, I have really come a long way since January. I bet I've run at least 20 minutes without stopping. " At this point I am getting pretty tired, just huffing and puffing away, as I should have been since 20 minutes without stopping on a COLD WINDY day is a huge step up for me. But then I thought to myself, "Well all my 'runner' friends said that the adrenaline would be racing and that I would probably do better than normal; I guess this is what they meant." I decided to look at my watch to see just how long I had been running. You can imagine the fury that came over me when it said 11. ELEVEN? Seriously...only ELEVEN MINUTES? UGH, I am NOT loving this moment.

Ok, so I know I talk about how we ("we" meaning "I") need to enjoy the journey and how we (again meaning I) need to take time to appreciate the valleys as well as the peaks, but I must say at this very moment in time I was definitely NOT loving this particular piece of the journey. In fact, it down right sucked and I was highly, HIGHLY irritated! Again I say, ELEVEN MINUTES? Are you kidding me? I was breathing heavier than a 75 year old chain smoker chimney sweeping in the middle of August!

Then I made a decision. I decided I was going to run to the light. As soon as I got to the light I could walk, I just had to make it to the light. By the way when I say light I literally mean traffic light not some spiritual metaphor for a vision of Jesus or Angels or some such Devine Being. If I was seeing that after only ELEVEN minutes that I have MUCH bigger issues than I thought. Anywho, so I ran to the light. Then I decided I could run to the tree, then to the next light, then...well, you get the point. Sure, I stopped and walked a little a long the way (mainly up the big hill while going against the wind) but by setting small goals I was able to run much farther and much longer than I thought I would be able to when I looked down at my watch and saw that darn ELEVEN. And I will say that while I didn't see Jesus, I did spend some time having little discussions with him. They weren't anything poetic or monumental "Ah-ha" (as Oprah would call them) moments. They pretty much consisted of me saying, "Ok, God just get me to the light..."; "Ok, now get me to the tree"; "Ok, now stop the wind". And every single time my prayer was answered. Well, maybe not the wind (that would have been a very "Moses-like" moment for a not so "Moses-like" situation). I figure the wind was there to provide me with some much needed resistance training. Plus, if I can run in the wind then I can run anywhere, right?

So, I finally crossed the finish line, and yes, I did run across it. I felt so good about myself. I can honestly say that even with the wind, that was the best run I have had yet. I found my friend (who clearly finished before me, as she is a much faster runner than I am) and together we waited for our other friend, who was walking, to cross the finish line. As she approached the finish line we cheered as loud as we could. You see, Saturday was her 52nd Birthday and her gift to herself was doing this race. She had been going through a similar funk I had gone through a while back and this was her "inspiration" to get herself off the sofa and back to living.

Oh, and by the way, I finished at 40:12. Almost a full 5 minutes faster than my goal. Clearly I need to set higher goals for myself! In the meantime...:)