Let's face it: we all have to start somewhere.
I am not the fastest. I always have been slow, and today, that is no exception. When I was growing up playing sports, it was about who was fast, who was strong...I could hang in there, but I was not quick by any stretch of the imagination. I think the missing component was the idea of "life-long fitness". When I got to college, I saw people of all shapes and sizes who would go out for a walk, or even go running, or go work out. Those were new ideas for me, so I tried it. I did find that I enjoyed it, but life in college is full of transitions and new beginnings, so anytime I would start a routine, it would end soon due to moving, change in classes, etc...
I got married at age 23, and I can honestly tell you that since then, I tried once to get in shape; and it lasted about 3-5 months. I think I was 32 years old and Kacie was 5. All the while I was trying to get pregnant, so I was afraid that exercise would affect my chance at getting pregnant. Stupid, right? After that we began the adoption process, where I proceeded to gain a bit more weight. And then...I hit my all time high in weight last summer (sorry, not ready to share that number just yet!) other than when I was prego. So I started to exercise last August. I started exercising, walking, attempting to jog, elliptical...trying to find my niche in the exercise world. It was hard, but I knew it was time.
I will never forget the first night in January (yes, I ran in the dark) I put two miles together. I was so proud of myself! It was 2 miles, back to back, in a row. And those two miles took me 27 minutes to complete. Even though I was so happy about my two miles, I was embarrassed that I was so slow. I look back on that and think, WHY? I did it! I was making progress. As a teacher, I tell my students that it's OK to be at different places in our rate of learning. Now I have to take that pill and swallow it, and it doesn't go down easy.
So with that, I'm going to share some times I've never shared, and I'm doing this to show others that it doesn't matter really because you are where you are, and you can't make growth if you don't analyze where you are and where you want to go.
Last Saturday, I ran my first 5K, and my time was 35:15. Not bad for my first race, but definitely on the slower side. But now I have something to compare to. So the other day I ran 3 miles, and I did it in 33:20. Improvement! And I'm feeling the difference in pace too. If I'm only running three miles (did you read that...ONLY 3 miles...3 months ago I was celebrating 2 miles), I can see a quick end in sight.
Today, I set a new personal best: 8 miles! And my time was 1 hour 40 min. I stopped three times, but the first two are legit: #1: I had a rock in my shoe. #2: I stashed a water bottle, so I stopped for drink at 40 min. #3: I do have a problem with my toes tingling and numbness, so at about 6.25 miles I had to stop to get the blood flowing back to my toes. That last stop was probably a few minutes. Now I know that's slow, I get that. But again, if you would have told me that I would run 8 miles 3 months ago, I'd have said, "No, I'll be happy with 3 miles." So again, I have a new mark to judge myself from. I set out to stay on my feet for 1 hour 45 min. I did that, so I reached my goal. I had no idea how many miles I'd do. When I realized I was at 8 miles, I decided to call it good, go get my stashed water bottle, and head home. Another victory is that for the moment, my feet feel good, but I won't know until tomorrow how my ankles will feel. I iced my knees as soon as I got home. So my time was about 12:35 per mile. That is also a major improvement from my 13-14 min miles back in January. If I didn't have the toe numbness, I probably could improve that time, but I get one body and I have to deal with it. Now next weekend, I have to do a long run of 2 hours. I'm hoping to get 9 miles out of it. I'm also looking forward to my orthotics coming in and seeing if those help my back/ankles/toes.
So my progress is just that...my progress. There will always be people out there who are faster, can run farther, etc...so this is where I am in my journey. I still think 8 miles is pretty darn good, and if I can do it, anyone can! Also, my total weight loss is now -35 lbs! I am still overweight for sure, but hopefully I can lose another 10 before the half marathon (which is in two months!); and I'll still be overweight, but that's OK...because it's progress! I am trying to embrace the idea of fitness and how it "fits" into my life. I have this great goal of the half marathon now. I'm not sure what my new goal will be after that, but for now, I'm just trying to do the best that Jolene can do!
Enjoy this beautiful day! Jolene
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