Running

I just wanted you all to know that I ran three miles today.  For you runners out there that is not a big deal, but up until last October I had never been a runner.  I'm not the world's thinnest person and I have never had any recognizable athletic ability.  I have never been on a sports team.  I don't seek out most (read: any) forms of athletic recreation.  I much prefer watching athletic events to participating in them.  I have asthma, which makes breathing especially difficult when exercising, and I live in a high altitude location where the air is already paper thin.  These limitations make it harder for me to be motivated to work out.  In sum, I am not typically a particularly physically (lots of "ally"s and "arly"s) active person, and certainly not a runner.

But now that has changed.  I ran three miles today!  You can't say you ran three miles and not acknowledge that you're a runner...so I am officially a runner now.  It was a slower-paced run, but I'm proud of myself for not breaking the pace to slow down or walk at all--I kept it constant on the treadmill the whole time.  I have been going regularly to the gym since October and have been training for a 5K.  That is to say, I was not training for a specific 5K, I just wanted to set a goal so I would have more motivation to run.  And now, I can tell you that I can run a 5K.  Yes, technically a 5K is 3.10685596 miles (so says Google), so I can't honestly tell all you literal-minded people that I have run a 5K.  I will run an actual 5K on Monday, though, to prove it to you and to myself.  And if I can do it, anyone (who doesn't have leg injuries/problems) can do it!  You just have to start small and push yourself a little further every day until you reach your goal.

My new goal is a 10K.  Bold?  Perhaps.  But I know that if I have gone this far, I can go that far again.  And I feel like building up from a 5K to a 10K will not be as hard as it was going from having difficulty running around the block to running a 5K.  Going from 2 miles to 3 miles wasn't so bad; what's adding on a few more?  Of course I know it won't be easy, but I know now that it is doable.  I'm not nearly as intimidated by the 10K as I was by the 5K.  I'm glad I'm doing this; I haven't felt good about how I've handled my stewardship over this body the Lord gave me.  I definitely haven't taken care of it, and I don't think that has pleased Him.  I hope He is pleased with my current efforts to change that and get more in shape!  And who knows?  Maybe a half marathon is in my future, then maybe a full marathon... :-o  But let's not get too ahead of ourselves.  Let's just take this one day and one run at a time.