Two years ago, I thought I should get more serious about running.
You see, every spring when the weather starts to get nice I get the itch to get outside and jog.
I’m not very good at it, but after 10 repetitive years of trying (I was in-athletic until the age of 14, at least!), I’ve figured out a few things. And two years ago, I was managing just fine.
Or so I thought.
I’d run little spurts and evenutally string a few spurts together. I’d go home after each run and see how far I’d made it.
Two years ago I said “this is the year I’ll run 5KM”.
Because normally, I’d get to about 2.5km in one go, and I’d be too tuckered to get any farther.And let me tell you, getting all the way to 2.5 was hard work.
Well, that year came and went, and I didn’t get to 5km.
The next spring, when the weather got nice, I started to run again.I bought new clothes, thinking that’d pressure me to get value for my money, and I’d somehow make it to 5km.But then I “hurt” my knee, and decided that yoga was more “my thing” that summer.(It’s still very much my thing, which I takeaway as a good outcome from last summer).
Early in March 2012, one night on a whim, I checked the local Running Room clinic schedule and, what do you know! The 5KM clinic started the very next day.
It was a sign, I tell you.
That next night, I took my first run of the spring, and I didn’t look back.
It wasn’t easy, but it was rewarding.
Over 10 weeks, I learned how to run hills, pace myself, run intervals and stretch my total distance all the way to 5KM.
And, I did it just in time to run in the 9th annual Bluenose Marathon 5KM Race with my newfound running clinic friends.
There were more than 2,000 runners on the course that day, and it was SO inspiring to see people of all shapes and sizes out walking and running and being active.
The best part wasn’t crossing the finish line, but seeing my mom, dad and brother cheering me on from the sidelines.
Thanks, guys. It was worth it.
My running group. We made it to the finish line together!
