Please pardon the interruption to my series on wellness for this news briefing. I am sooooooooo excited to share this with you!!!!
Last Sunday I ran my very first 5K race. Yep, my very first one!!! It felt fantastic and I loved it. Okay, so let me be honest. I hate running. It stinks. But the feeling after you run is addicting. The "Whomp!!! You did it! You kicked some serious @$$!!!!" feeling. It's hard to describe, but it's a pure adrenaline rush.
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| Yeah me!!! Time: 28:09 |
There are a whole lot of reasons why I shouldn't run, the number one being that the orthopedic surgeon told me two years ago, "NO running!" But I'm a bit of a rebel. Since I hurt my shoulder, my training has been limited. Then came in the "I'm going for a 'NOT' run" (as I would tell my husband).
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| I have arthritis in my left knee. No torn meniscus. |
The "NOT running" started last summer when I was doing interval training on the treadmill. I walked for two minutes, then increased my pace to my maximum for one minute. This maximum pace increased steadily to the point where I was running. "
One minute, it's not too bad." Repeat this rotation for 24 minutes. I loved increasing my speed on the treadmill each time. Pushing my maximum effort to more than what I did before made me feel like I was accomplishing something. And I sweat like crazy, which proved to me I was working hard.
I loved it.
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| drip,drip, drip |
Then I started run / walking outside. Basically, I did the same thing as on the treadmill, only instead of timing it, I used driveways to mark my distance. This was even harder. Run: "
Try to get to the end of the street." Walk. "
Breathe, catch your breath. Breathe." Run: "
Try to go a little further this time."
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| I even started running laps inside work on my late nights. |
In November, I started running further distances without walking. I started at one mile and worked my way up a little bit gradually. And then I ran my first 5K race. Yeah!!! So psyched!!!
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| Our Team |
So, why run? Why go against the doctor's orders? Here's the thing, I am by NO means telling you to go against your doctor's orders. Not by any means. Two years ago I weighed 50 lbs. more than I do now. I was no where near as strong as I am today. Not by a long shot. Not only that, I am a lot smarter about my own abilities and my own body. I recently saw a segment on The Doctors about this woman with MS who is running 7 marathons on 7 continents. If she can do that, I can certainly run a 5K. (
Woman with MS to Run 7 Marathons on 7 Continents.) So, I took a calculated risk and so far it's come up okay.
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| Don't you just LOVE the pink headband with the cranberry shirt? |
If my knee is wobbly or achey, I don't run. Running is nothing like riding my bike. But it's too cold to ride my bike and the roads are a mess due to the recent snow we've had. So...this lets me push myself. And...even though I hate it while I'm doing it, I like the way I feel after I run.
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| Sweat man...nothing like a good run to majorly sweat! |
Questions for you...
Do you run?
Do you want to run?
Do you think you could ever do a 5K? Do you wish you could?
Send me an email and I'll give you some tips on how to get started. I am NO expert, not at all, but having JUST started, I can tell you what worked and did not work for me.'
Are you up to speed on my series on wellness? Check it out!
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