First 10K: Check

Well friends, I ran my first 10k last Saturday. I was nervous because I had been sick for a few weeks prior, and hadn’t had a chance to run between my 5k on Thanksgiving and my 10k on December 8th, but I just figured I’d do the best I could do, and that was that.

I ended up finishing in 1:22, about a 13:22 pace. Slower than I would have liked, but still, as I crossed the 5k mark, I knew that I was running further than I ever had. And no matter what, every pace past that was a personal best.

Here we are at the finish – how cute are we, despite our tiredness?

We met up with Jen and Aaron, who were about to run the 5k, and color coordinated even though we didn’t realize it!

Ellen’s dad came out and was there close to the finish line, cheering on the runners, and giving me a high-5 when I past, despite the fact that Ellen had finished 17 minutes earlier…his smile and encouragement DEFINITELY got me going for the last .2 miles, indeed! Not to mention running into Jen, Aaron, and Jeff, who jumped in and finished the race with me!

Here we are looking for Ellen’s name, and my name, but more importantly, look at our cute hair ribbon that Ellen made for us!

Overall, I am glad I finished, that I didn’t finish horribly, and that I had such a great support group there to watch us run! I can’t wait to run another race and to work towards another goal, and luckily we have one coming up in February.

Hope you’re getting some goals ready for 2013, friends!

don’t mind where you are/cause you know where you’ve been

So confession: between starting a new job, juggling GMS, and figuring out how to get through this holiday season, I may or may not have had to restart my 10k training.

Twice.

OK, three times.

I didn’t want to tell you because I felt like a failure, pathetic, useless. Instead of staring mid-September, October 1, or mid-October, I started October 25. Instead of completing my 9 week program, I will run my race in the middle of week 7.

But, chicks, next week I run a 5k with my Dad (his first) and my sister (our second together) and Jeff (also our second together.) Our pace will be faster than my pace running with my sister or Jeff, and hopefully will be another personal best.

Because despite it all, I am getting faster, if slower than I like. I am losing weight, if slower than I like. And on December 8, I will run a 10K. Probably slower than I like, but I will do it. And, after that, my 10k times can only get better.

Pondering all this, I am reminded of song lyrics (because I am always reminded of song lyrics) from Carbon Leaf:

You’ve come far, and though you’re far from the end
You don’t mind where you are, cause you know where you’ve been

I think I don’t mind, chicks.

i would steal enough to make my way into the night

Running Mix, 11/12/12

Blow Me (One Last Kiss)/P!nk
Barton Hollow/The Civil Wars
Never Gonna Leave This Bed/5 Maroon 5
For The First Time/The Script
22/Taylor Swift
Runaway Run/Hanson
Uncharted/Sara Bareilles
Breakeven (Falling to Pieces)/The Script
Faster/Matt Nathanson
When You Feel It/Brett Dennen
We Are Never Getting Back Together/Taylor Swift
I’ve Been Down/Hanson
Sydney (I’ll Come Running)/Brett Dennen
We Could Run Away/Needtobreathe
Mrs. Potter’s Lullaby/Counting Crows
Say You’re Sorry/Sara Bareilles
Come Around/Marc Broussard
Who We Are/Lifehouse
If Only/Hanson
Valley of Tomorrow/Needtobreathe
If I Am/Nine Days
Lost Without Each Other/Hanson
Devil’s Been Talkin’/Needtobreathe
Stay (Wasting Time)/Dave Matthews Band Love
The Way You Lie/Eminem Ft. Rihanna
Doin’ Dirt/Maroon 5
Watch Over Me/Hanson
Fortune Teller/Maroon 5
She’s On Fire/Train
Beating My Heart/Jon McLaughlin

have you ever had a dream you wanted to follow? we do, too.

I started my 10K training yesterday. I hadn’t run since the 5K race, taking a month off to catch up on things and pursue other exercise options (read: yoga and Wii fit.)

I have learned if I don’t have a training schedule, I will not run just to run. And so, I will train for something. I love structure, and planning, and organization, and a goal, so for me, this is perfect.

For those of you who know me, you know I have several reoccurring dreams: the one when I realize it’s three weeks into the semester and I’ve gone to no classes, the one where I have to retake high school math even though I have a college degree, the one where I am at the final soccer game of the season and realize I’ve forgotten my shin guards…but the one I have most is the one where I am running, my lungs do not hurt, I am running fast and free and far, and I am happy.

I’ve always wanted to have that dream, to be that dream. I thought it not possible, but I proved myself wrong by running two 5Ks. And now, I want to prove myself wrong by running a 10K. And maybe, someday, more. I realize in order to make this dream come true, I must baby step up to the plate. It won’t be easy, it won’t happen overnight, but it is absolutely achievable, and that’s what matters.

My sister posted this video on the book today (below), and I thought it was accurate to the way a lot of people feel about health; they’ve given up, accepted status quo, let their current health state define who they are. But that’s not right, that’s not how it should be. You must define your own path. You must believe in yourself. You must push yourself to be the best you you can be.

As Sara Bareilles says, “Compare who you are to where you want to be and you’ll get nowhere.”