 |
| 1st day of Training |
Two
weeks into the new year and I finally came up with a New Year’s Resolution….I
want to make 2014 the year I become a runner. I had run some here and there in
the past, but mainly because my Aunt made me. Oddly enough I have always had a
dream of running a half marathon, yet I never pushed myself to get out there
and make it happen. After recently
moving to Bend, where the vast majority of the population has at least one go-to
outdoor sport they are addicted to, I realized I needed to choose one for
myself.
So,
I aimlessly started searching Google for activities to do in Bend and I cameacross the FootZone website. I had visited this site before and dreamed about
the day I would join one of their several weekly FREE group runs. I admired anyone
who could just head downtown to FootZone and confidently run the 3-5 miles
planned while possibly not knowing anyone in the group.
I wanted to be that person. I wanted to not
only be confident enough, but able to run 3-5 miles on a regular basis as well.
So, three weeks into the New Year I clicked “join” and paid the fee to join the
Couch to 5k training group. BAM! It was done; I was going to become a runner!!!
Then, as I was printing the receipt I realized what I had just done. I had
signed up to join a group where I assumed I would not know ANYONE and I would
train to run 3.1 miles with them. All of a sudden I freaked out and was already
dreading the next 5 days until Saturday. Thoughts just flew across my
brain….What do runners wear? Do I even own a good sports bra? What do I eat
before I go? Can I drink coffee? What if I’m the only one that shows up? What
if I am the oldest person there? What if I am the youngest person there? What
if I’m the slowest person there? Do I even have time to train for this?
LOADS
of questions and different scenarios popped into my mind. The next thing I knew
it was Saturday morning and my alarm clock was going off! AAHH! The day had
come and it was a COLD one, 18 degrees cold! So I made myself believe that the
first day we would meet at FootZone and just talk about running and the training
program. I figured because it was so cold and we were new to the running world that
they would not make us go outside and actually run. So with those thoughts in mind,
I was able to get up and get ready quickly! I even arrived 20 minutes early and
sat in the store with a few of the mentors.
 |
| Crossing the 5k Finsh Line |
As people started coming in, I was relieved to
see the diversity in the group. There were children joining with their parents,
grandmothers, men and women of all different shapes, sizes, and ages! Just as I
had assumed this morning, we all sat around with our lead trainer, Michelle, and
introduced ourselves. I felt extremely calm and elated that I had joined this
group AND showed up that first day : ) Michelle then talked to us about some
various things running related. I figured this would continue for a bit before
we’d get our training schedules and meet back next week for our first run. Man,
was I WRONG! Michelle wrapped up her talk and proceeded to tell us we were
going on our first run. Nerves came flooding back but I had no way out so I had
to proceed. “Here goes nothing” I said to myself and followed the group
outside.
Our
workout for the day was to jog 1 minute, walk 1 minute 10x. While we did our workout we talked to each
other and started bonding and achieving the common goal which was to become a
runner. I had such a high once the first day was over I knew I had made the
right decision. I took my running calendar home and started scheduling my runs
for the upcoming week. Each week we increased our jogging time and lessened the
walking time. Looking at the schedule it seemed to be small increases but in
the training it was scary and exciting to meet each Saturday and watch my goal
of becoming a runner come true. The weekly workouts included days of just
walking, rest, and some jogging with walking. It was easy to maintain and
actually fun to do! I was literally able to see my progress each week I
increased my running time.
 |
| Everyone deserves to experience this! |
Six
weeks after that first Saturday of running 1 minute at a time we were running a
5k! A 5k is 3.1 miles ladies and gentlemen, 3.1 miles. To be able to complete
that in 6 weeks was a HUGE accomplishment and I am so proud of all of us that
persevered and completed the 5k! The feeling I had crossing that finish line
was an out of body experience, I felt invincible! I instantly flashbacked to
that first day and how far all of us had come and was so proud of not only
myself but of everyone that finished! That feeling alone keeps me going even
now, weeks later. It is the feeling that gets me up early in the morning or off
the couch to go run. I set a goal and I achieved it and that is something I
hope everyone has the opportunity to do!
Not
only did this class push me outside of my comfort zone and help me achieve a
goal of becoming a runner but introduced me to incredible people who I have
become friends and continue to run with. All of the mentors were amazing,
keeping us positive and passing on their running experiences to us. Michelle, our leader is one of the most
inspirational women I have ever met and has a gift of making everyone feel at
ease. She can channel her confidence onto others which is a rare talent. All in
all I hope you see that anyone can set a goal and achieve it….even if that goal
is to become a runner : )
 |
| We just ran a 5k in the SNOW, bring on the
coffee! Special thanks to Bluebird Coffee for hosting us! |
No comments:
Post a Comment