Couch to 5K to So Much More

Yes, that's me after my run during my first 5K.
My time was horrible, not even going to share, but I did get a trophy.
Everyone who ran with a dog did, so it wasn't due to my great effort.

Running to me is a metaphor for the impossible. I have wanted to be a runner for years. Not because I enjoy running. I hate running. You have no destination in mind, sweating buckets, breathing hard, thinking of anything to help pass the time while enduring this torturous self-inflicted act. Yet this was a desire of mine because I couldn't do it.

In college, I tried to run, but with my ulcerative colitis and constant flares, I was never able to have the energy to really run. Plus my knees always hurt even from the simple task of walking up and down stairs. This is a side effect of my illness.

Then five years later, I was "cured" of my disease, but every stinking time I would try to run my ankles would swell. Then I learned I had asthma, then my knees started swelling. Everything pointed to me not becoming a runner.

My husband often jokes, "You are not well equipped for physical activity." So when I told Kevin, "I want to start running." His response was, I don't think that's a good idea. He thought I'd injure myself... again.

But I was determined.

So I went to the doctor, told them my plans, got stretches to help with my knees, orthopedics for my ankles, and a suggestion on how to decrease my chances of irritating my asthma.

My goal: to run a 5K.

And well, I did it!

Okay, the race was a flop, but on the road, I can run a 5K.

I never thought I would be able to run. After discussing extensively with my doctor, and a multitude of other stuff, I could do it. It told me, if I can run, I can do anything. To you, my goal may have seemed trivial, but to me, it was much harder. This was the one thing in my life, I thought was beyond my capabilities.

No, I will probably never enjoy running, but I'm doing it for my health, for my own self-satisfaction, and to remind myself that I can do anything.

So I will continue to work on being a better runner, but I have other plans. Bigger ones. Things that I feel too shy to share because I'm not sure how long they will take, or where to start. But there they are in my brain, with a file in my computer storing data on how to achieve these dreams. Do you have those dreams, the ones you're not ready to share, but you are working towards? Yeah, I have tons of those.