I have never been a runner. As a matter of a fact, running is the one thing that always held me back from getting Presidential in the physical fitness testing in elementary, middle and high school gym class (stupid mile run that had to be under 9 minutes). Even as a cheerleader in high school I would avoid the running parts of training like the plague.
However, back then I was skinny and didn't have to work on it. Now? Not so much!
On Aaron's 1st birthday last week, I was officially 60 pounds less than I was when I went into labor with him last year. The first 20 of those pounds came off before we left the hospital (including of course, 6 pounds of Aaron!). The next 10 pounds came off without any work at all (unless you count nursing your child work). However, by the time Aaron was 6 months old I was still 170 pounds and desperate to trim down. I started a diet and work out plan, got a job at a gym and in 6 months lost 30 more pounds.
But that last 15 pounds (20 if I am being really ambitious) is seemingly impossible to get rid of! So I decided to ramp up my workouts. This started with incorporating running into my walks with the kids. I would walk a little while, then run, then walk, etc.
Keep in mind I wasn't timing my progress or keeping track of anything, but I was pushing a non-running (clunker) stroller with 50 pounds of kids inside. After a couple weeks of this I decided to take a run by myself one afternoon while Brett was watching the kids to see how long I could run without stopping. I made it 12 minutes (and honestly could have gone longer, but I needed to make dinner).
This may be shocking to some people, but that was the longest I had ever run without stopping in my entire life!!! I was pleased as punch.
So pleased I wanted to work harder and towards a goal.
That night I signed up for a sprint triathlon in October.
When I told Brett, he said that the normal response to someone running for the first time would have been signing up for a 5K or MAYBE a 10K; but normal isn't my style.
The triathlon is October 11 in Richmond, VA and will include a 400 meter pool swim, 20k bike ride and 5k run. Here is the link to the race.
As of 2 nights ago, I also have company with my training and on race day now that my oldest friend, Georgia Tahan (we have been known each other for 20 years) will be competing with me!!!
Our goal is to finish the race without dying, even if we crawl to the finish line. Which may be the only way we make it.
9.5 weeks left of training! We will keep you updated!
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