I'm doing the scariest thing I've EVER signed up to do - run a 5k. As someone with asthma (the basis for Carly's affliction), I don't really get out and exercise as much as I would like (or need to). But I want to. I dream of joining the local pool, having been on a swim team in my youth, but put it off until we quit paying for daycare for our kids. I want to walk/run in my neighborhood, but am always worried about the hills. There are always excuses of why I can't do something, but I'm ready to prove I CAN. So I signed up for the Color Run in Atlanta the day before my 32nd birthday. Maybe I should have made sure I could physically cross the finish line first, but I'm afraid that if I try to prove I can first, I won't even fill out the registration form. I went to Wal-mart (soul-sucking, by the way) last night and bought running tights, cheap white t-shirts (to get colorful during the run), cheap shoes (lest I ruin my nice - unworn - running shoes), colorful socks and hairbands & other running paraphernalia. I also bought salad fixings. Sure, I had two salads because I was starving, but the chicken on them had just enough protein to give me the motivation to begin my first workout in who-knows-how-long. I got on our elliptical (yes, we have one - it's just been buried in our "office") and alternated walking and running for 7.5 minutes, or about a mile. Parched and slightly wheezing, I got off and rejoined my husband in the living room. After two puffs on my inhaler, I was back to feeling energized for another go, but he convinced me to let that be it for tomorrow so I would still *want* to work out tomorrow (well, today, now). So I set my alarm for about 45 minutes early and let it go off a few times, getting up about 35 minutes earlier than usual. I put on my new running gear again and got on the elliptical machine. After 8.02 minutes, I'd finished a mile. I wasn't wheezing, but my legs burned, just a little. I was parched once again, only because I hadn't downed my bottle of water that had sat bedside overnight. I went back to my bedroom and sat down to check e-mail and thought, "I can actually do this! One mile was practically easy!" So now, instead of worrying that I might not survive the Color Run, I'm thinking of how quickly I can "run" the 5k. Instead of crossing the finish line sometime around dusk, I'm hoping to come in under 45 minutes, or at least an hour. Not bad, for a girl with asthma. Thirty-two isn't looking so bad, after all. ;)
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No, I haven't gotten so famous that people recognize me in the store. (Thank goodness - I would probably look a hot mess!) But I was asked the other day on Facebook on a book page if I was an author, as the admin thought she'd heard that. How cool is that??
I've gotten so bogged down with LIFE that I haven't had a chance to write much lately. I've also felt a bit stuck. I know where I want Sleepless to go, but I don't want to force it. I want it be good, not fast. I guess with all of the recognition I & my books have received and the publicity I'll get over the next couple of months, I really need to finish the book, but I'm trying to do it right, and not put out #3 just for the sake of having a third book. If you're on Facebook, and if you are reading this blog, I imagine you're pretty tech-savvy, you should check out the following pages, not just because I think THEY are awesome, but because the feeling just might be mutual. ;) Girls with Books Lubs Book Chatter International Girls YA Book Club So check 'em out, tell them I sent you, and be sure to enter to win! All three should be doing a giveaway, and GWB is reading "Breathless" for the May Book Club. Happy Reading! Love, Becki |
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