Saber Tooth Tigers & Machine Guns

Up until nine weeks ago, those the only acceptable reasons for running further than a block. (I reserved the "Block Rule" for catching an MBTA train. There is a utility pole on my street that I use as my cut off pole.) You see, I never really understood running. I don't really understand it now, but I certainly don't mock it anymore.

Oh yes, I would mock running! "Can't you just achieve the name thing by walking really fast?", I would think to myself. I think there's a deeply rooted reason I never liked running, but more on that later.

On Saturday I'll be doing something SO our of my character this Saturday, that it caused the following conversation took place between Al and I:

Me - "Can you believe I'm running a 5k?"

Al - "No."

Yep. Me neither.... But this Saturday myself, along with Reed Making Warrior will be running the Spectacle Island 5k!  Spectacle Island is one of the Boston Harbor Island. It was a resort island for the wealthy to escape the city heat during the summer, then it was an industrial area, a dump, and then was capped and reclaimed by dirt from The Big Dig, and then turned into a city park. How freaking cool is that!?!?!?

Two times around & I'm done!

I've been using the Couch to 5K app to train, and it's been pretty awesome. I've been using the Drill Sargent as my "coach", he's been pretty cool. The training hasn't been "easy", but I wouldn't exactly call it "enjoyable". I haven't feel like puking or dying yet. Which is good, being as that my goal for Week 1, Day 1 was, "do not die."

It's week nine, and I'm still alive...so I'd say that's progress.

I haven't actually run 5K yet, but if I keep moving my pace up and I incrementally move up each run like I have...I'll hit 5K on the day of the 5K.

I have three goals for myself for the race...

1) NO WALKING.

2) Finish with a time between 40 minutes and an hour.

3) To not finish last.

I think the thing that has caught me a little off guard is how emotional I've been in the past few days entering the week of the 5K. Holy shit! I'm really doing this. For me, running a 5K was about THE LAST thing I would every see myself doing. 

I was the chunky kid in elementary school that would always finish the mile last, that chunky kid is no WILLINGLY running two laps around an island in the Boston Harbor. Point to the underdogs.

Not only am I proving MYSELF wrong, I'm sure I'm proving some other people wrong. Even after losing 57.6 pounds, I am still overweight. Running at any size (I'm sure) is work, but running at my size is far from pleasant and far from easy; that's what I'm doing though, that which is hard to makes one more ripe with character. At this point, through my life...I'm one freaking juicy Character Berry.

The amazing part to me about all of this isn't really the running, it's the doing what you think you can't do...or aren't ready, and doing it anyway. Don't wait to be this way or that way before your do it...do it anyway. Cellulite and excess skin on your thighs? Put 'em in some running shorts. Flabby under arms? Put 'em in a tank top so you don't overheat. Scared your boob will bounce too much? Put them in a regular bra, top it with sports bra and get over yourself. They're gonna bounce some. So what? Boobs bounce!

Look what scares you or you think is beyond you straight in the face and do it. Don't wait to be "perfect", "enough" or "ready" for a specific thing. You already are. (Well, I mean...you have to train, let's be logical here.)

I so very much look forward to those tears of accomplishment when I cross that finish line.

As Ben Folds said, "Do it anyway." (You better believe it's on my running playlist!)