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Back in January I tried the C25k program and failed miserably. It just wasn't for me and I was ok with that. The longest run I made it to was 90 seconds and I hated every 90 seconds of it. I never made it past Week 2 and finally announced on my blog in March that I quit the program.
I still love the idea of running though. I love reading running blogs, I love hearing about the marathons my brother runs and I'm so extremely proud of my mom and sister-in-law who have stuck with the 5k training that I gave up on. All three of those family members will be running races at Disney in October.
My brother, Erick, crossing the finish line of his first full marathon.
My mom running her first 5k.
The dream of crossing the finish line and having that medal wrapped around my neck felt like a lost cause to me.
Then one fabulous day I was sitting on my friend Julie Ann's deck intently listening to her talk about her upcoming training. I was so excited for her and asking her questions and she said I should run with her. When I said I don't run she said that's ok, you can walk it.
And then the game changed.
I thought about it for awhile. Could I really do it? Could I walk 13.1 miles? Would I want to walk 13.1 miles? Yes, I thought I did.
I talked to more friends about it, I researched training schedules, solicited my brother's advice on which training to follow and then I told you all I was going to do it.
The first two weeks were just a trial run in my mind. Of course I was afraid I would fail miserably again like I did with the C25k. Things didn't start well with shin splints but I didn't give up. I rested, bought new shoes and slowed my pace and I was back in the game.
Now that I'm entering my fifth week of training I can confidently say that I love it. I love having a goal. I love highlighting my spreadsheet after walks. I love that I get up at 7 a.m. on Sunday to do a long walk. I feel like a bad@ss because I'm doing this.
I'm excited about my potential to improve my time. I'm excited about the fact that I might end up really loving this and it will become part of me - the marathon walker. I'm excited that my friend Stacey is doing this with me and I get to spend so much time with her. There aren't many people you could spend two hours walking with on a Sunday morning and never have a lag in conversation.
My training makes me happy. I feel good after my walks. I'm SO THRILLED that walking is more flexible on my schedule - I can go after the kids are in bed without feeling guilty about choosing exercise over family time.
I didn't feel ANY of these things those few weeks that I did C25k. It just goes to show you that we're not one size fits all.
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