It nearly killed me. Seriously. It was HORRIBLE.
But then, the next day, I jogged 2.5 minutes. Just because I knew that I could do 2 minutes and what was another 30 seconds? And the day after, 3 minutes. I slowly increased my time to the point that by 20 days in, I ran an entire mile in 18 minutes!!! This was a whopping pace of 3.33 mph, which is slower than many people walk but for me, was a massive victory. I picked my feet up off the ground for the whole mile, so I was jogging, no matter how slowly. And as something I read said "No matter how slow I run, I'm still lapping the guy sitting on the couch". I continued to add distance, and my times improved.
I got to my promised to myself 30 day mark, when I decided to do something totally crazy - I set my sights on competing in a 5K. A 5K is 3.2 miles people - miles! Less than 30 days before, I had been 100% sedentary, completely and totally out of shape. And I was at the point were I could jog (slowly) 1 mile. How could I ever expect to run 3.2 miles continuously? Here's what happened:
I did it. I trained hard, I worked hard, and in less than 60 days from my starting from sedentary date, I ran a 5K continuously. My time was 49:13, which didn't exactly break any land speed records, but you know what record it broke? MINE! I had not run that far since I was 14 years old. And I trained from 1 mile to triple my mileage - 3.2 - in 30 days.
Now after my 5K, I have been running 2-3 miles a day routinely - 3 miles being approximately a 5K. It's amazing to me that I can easily run a 5K on a Sunday afternoon as my normal run. I say easily, but nothing about running is easy for me. I read all these things by people who run, who talk about how much they just love to run, love the feeling of it, etc, etc. Me? Not so much. I pretty much hate it the entire time I'm running. At any point along the way, I'd much rather be sitting on the couch eating bon bons. Running is not fun in this body (yet anyway, maybe another (mumble, mumble) pounds lighter and I'll change my tune). Running is hard work. I don't like it. But I DO IT. Because it is good for my physical and mental health and it sets a good healthy example for my son about healthful living.
But now I have made a commitment to run a 10K race 37 days from now. Currently I can only run 3 miles comfortably. And by comfortably, I mean without dying. I have to more than double my mileage to 6.2 in little over a month. But I didn't think I could achieve the 5K and I did. So I should let history be my guide - I can do this.
I have been letting my nerves get the better of me in facing down this HUGE AUDACIOUS MASSIVE goal, but a phrase I read somewhere really rang true for me. It is now my mantra, and I say it to myself over and over and over again in my head when I run and I think I can't go on any further.
"The tallest, mightiest oak in the forest was once a little nut that held his ground."
So. A 10K in 37 days. Ridiculously ambitious, scary to contemplate, and exciting to imagine achieving. I think I'll hold my ground.
