Running

Today my ankle hurts.  Its stiff, sore and I'm walking with a limp.  And you know what?  I don't care!  Yesterday we did our Tuesday lunch time run/walk, and for the first time there was actually more running than walking.  Yes, that's right, I did 2Km at lunch time and ran more than half of it.

Understand, I've never been a runner.  When I was a child I was sent to a sports medicine clinic to determine if there was a physiological reason for why I ran so slowly.  They didn't find anything, it just was.  For a kid, being the slowest runner bites, and after a while I just stopped running at all.  I love to walk, used to walk for hours, but I never ran.  Ever.

Fast forward to today.  My speed certainly hasn't improved, but that really doesn't matter.  What matters is getting out there and doing it, and of course doing more and better each time.  I'm fortunate to have a good friend to run with me who pushes me to try harder, sometimes past the point where I thought I could go.  Funny thing is, she was right, I was wrong.  I could go that far, obviously, since I did.

My run is improving, I'm getting better at pacing, I can run longer before I need to walk to catch my breath and I'm loving it.  I'm never going to be the fastest or the one with the most endurance, and I don't need to be.  What I do need to be is the person who sees their improvements as an opportunity to push harder.  I will be really proud of myself if one day I can run 2Km without needing to take a walking break.  But what will make me prouder is if the day I get there I set my sights on going to 3Km.

Well, tomorrow is weigh in day, so we'll see what the scales say, but regardless of the outcome of my weigh in I'm feeling pretty successful today.