If you told me a year ago that I would be running anywhere I would have laughed at you. I have never considered myself athletically inclined. In grade school I was always the last kid to be picked for anything. I was awkward and uncoordinated. Team sports always made me feel uncomfortable. As I got older I knew that I should be doing some type of physical activity as my metabolism slowed down and my pants mysteriously seemed to shrink a size every few months. My problem was finding an activity that held my interest. Joining a gym? Too intimidating! Running on a treadmill? Too boring. So for many years I did what many of us do and continued to eat what I wanted and bought new clothes as the old ones "shrunk".
In January of 2011 my employer offered a 12 week Weight Watchers program for free if you went to all the meetings. I think to myself "how easy is that?" and I signed up. My first weigh in was 202 pounds. After the first couple weeks I could not be bothered any more with counting points but I got into their Power Foods program and I was starting to lose weight.
In February my employer offers to pay the entry fees for anyone who wanted to participate in the Louisville Triple Crown of Running. The Triple Crown consists of a 5K, 10K and 10 mile race each spaced two weeks apart. My friend and coworker, James, emailed me and suggested we do it. I replied back to him "you have fun with that!" Later that day I started thinking about it again and told myself that it would help me lose weight. If I couldn't finish the race at a run at least I could walk. So I signed up and I started training. My first goal was to finish the 5K without stopping to rest.
The day of the 5K came and I was nervous. I had absolutely no idea what to expect. For some reason I expected everyone to be hardcore. To be sure there were hardcore individuals there. But there was also just about every other type of individual there you can imagine. Young, old, thick, thin and everything in between. There was nothing intimidating about. In fact, there was a sense of community and camaraderie. I finished the first race (without stopping to walk) and I was hooked. I completed 8 races in 2011 including 1 half marathon (more on that later).
I don't run as much as I would like. I am not the fastest or the strongest. I don't have the most endurance. But I try. I love the feeling of accomplishment when I finish a run. I appreciate the way running makes me feel physically. I like the fact that running gives me a little time to myself to clear my head. I have been able to keep my weight around 180 pounds since mid-April and running has certainly played a part in my ability to maintain that.
The day of the 5K came and I was nervous. I had absolutely no idea what to expect. For some reason I expected everyone to be hardcore. To be sure there were hardcore individuals there. But there was also just about every other type of individual there you can imagine. Young, old, thick, thin and everything in between. There was nothing intimidating about. In fact, there was a sense of community and camaraderie. I finished the first race (without stopping to walk) and I was hooked. I completed 8 races in 2011 including 1 half marathon (more on that later).
I don't run as much as I would like. I am not the fastest or the strongest. I don't have the most endurance. But I try. I love the feeling of accomplishment when I finish a run. I appreciate the way running makes me feel physically. I like the fact that running gives me a little time to myself to clear my head. I have been able to keep my weight around 180 pounds since mid-April and running has certainly played a part in my ability to maintain that.
No comments:
Post a Comment