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. ;)
2 Comments
3/25/2013 11:20:07 am
Good luck Becki that sounds so awesome. Can't wait to hear how you did.
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Becki Brannen
3/25/2013 11:22:10 am
Thanks! I've got about a week and a half to get ready. I'm excited!!!
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