Running with the rodents...

A year ago, quite a bit larger and significantly less motivated to do anything I opened my mouth in front of a bunch of co-workers before engaging my brain.  Now I'm not going to try to pretend that this is a particularly unusual circumstance, but this time I really stepped in it.

I loudly proclaimed during the 2009 Rat Race after party that I was going to run the 2010 Rat Race with the team.

Oops...I don't run, I can't run.  I'm too fat, too slow, I don't have any athletic ability whatsoever.  And now I've trapped myself.  Fast forward 11 months and a bit....Apparently all those motivational speakers actually had some wheat tucked in amongst all the chaff!  Can't is a lie.  Can't is won't in hiding.

On Thursday (sorry for the delay in posting) I ran the Rat Race.  I did a 5K run, did it in under the time goal I had set for myself and it felt great!  I'm already planning my next race.  More to the point, I did it in the company of an amazing group of people.  Everyone there was so stoked up for the race and having a blast, the team I ran with was motivated and a genuinely caring group.

Which brings me to the next point.  Tutus.

Yes, I ran my first ever 5K race in a tutu, along with the majority of my team.  Many people dress in costume for the Rat Race, but in this case it was more than just a costume.  It was a chance for us to show our support and caring for a young boy and his family Tutus for Tanner.  To show that even if we don't know someone we can still care, and given that the Rat race is put on to raise money for the United Way it seemed very appropriate.

The person who intially pitched this idea to our team explains the way we felt far better than I ever could in her blog and so I won't try to reiterate what's been already so perfectly described.  She also gets a special prop from me for being my own personal Jillian Michaels, and ensuring that I beat my time by staying with me through the whole race and pushing me when I started to flag.

It was an extraordinary experience with an extraordinary group and I am honoured to have been part of it.  It also left me with the knowledge that "can't" does not belong in my vocabulary, because Yes I Can (with a little help from my friends), as I finish with a smile!!!

Hot weather running

Another Tuesday, another lunch time run...This time with a slight twist.  Its warm outside.  OK, its a little more than warm outside, its 27 C with a humidex of 31 (thats 81 feeling like 93 for those of you south of the border).  This is definitely lessons learned territory. 

We all know fat is an excellent insulator, and I benefit from this fact all winter long.  That said, running in this kind of heat while being "well insulated" is definitely not a benefit.  Could be one of the weakest runs I've ever had!  My abject apologies go out to my ever patient running partner, she was incredibly tolerant of my walking/gasping for air and stuck with me until I finally told her she needed to go and finish at her own pace (which I might add was twice the rate I was going at).

I'm getting fitter, that's true, and actually even a little faster, but today I learned that there are still some hurdles to overcome, and that until I get much closer to my goal weight I'm still going to see restrictions on what I can (or at least should) do.  And this is a good lesson to learn!

I've been carrying a lot of extra pounds for a very long time, and really don't remember what it was like without them.  As they are coming off, I'm finding myself able to do more and more, and I like it!  Today though served as reminder that as things become easier I need to be aware, I am still very overweight, and this will have repercussions that I need to keep in mind.

Still, 6 months ago I wouldn't have been sitting at my desk right now blogging about my run (well actually, there wouldn't have been a run to blog about), I'd probably be lying on the sidewalk half a kilometre from the office waiting for someone to collect my heatstroked butt and take it to the hospital!  And that, to me, is definite progress.

Next stop, weigh in day.  Probably get there tomorrow and write it up if I get a chance, in the meantime though, I'm going to enjoy this beautiful day, though in a less strenuous manner!

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.

Some thoughts

Sorry folks, I thought I'd actually done this post, but with everything going on I guess I forgot.  Anyway, first things first.  My last weigh in, another 3.6 lbs down.  Very happy about that, it really does feel like I'm making the kind of progress on this I believe I need to make for this to be a permanent solution.

I am running the Rat Race on June 10th, and so on Tuesday we went for a lunch time run.  It was great!  Tiring and maybe a little depressing since it pointed out how far I had to go, but also inspiring because I know 4 months ago I couldn't have done 1/10 of what I did.  I was fortunate to have a friend who kindly chose to run with me, and although she is FAR beyond my level she stayed and pushed me harder.  Amazing how much someone pushing you can help.

We ran again yesterday, and it was genuinely an enjoyable experience.  I'm surprised, but I think in the long term I could really get into running.  There's something about it that seems to appeal to me, and I wouldn't have expected that.

There was a down side though.  After the run, someone made a really cruel comment and my friend took it very much to heart.  Didn't matter that it was patently untrue, there are things in our hearts we can't wipe out no matter what our heads tell us.  Really took some of the enjoyment out of what was otherwise a great run, and got me thinking.

The other day I saw a show about a guy who had lost 400lbs.  I'm absolutely in awe of the sheer strength of will and determination that it must have taken to do something like that.  I know how much I struggle, and read how others struggle and can't imagine what it must've felt like to look at that starting point and realize how far you have to go.  Truly amazing.  And yet, he was completely paralysed by a lack of self image.  The person he had become still contained the person he was and he couldn't get past it.

It made me think, is this going to be the case?  I don't know.  I tend to believe, and so far it seems to be the way it is, that rather than hanging onto where I was I'm feeling great about what I've accomplished.  I'm feeling pretty good about things as they stand, I know I have a ways to go yet, but I'm definitely looking better and I'm going to keep that in mind all the time.

And to cruel comment guy...I'm fat and you're an a**hole but I'm losing the fat, and you'll still be an a**hole.  I win!