Get Inspired!

Get Inspired! ~ 2013

Five years ago, I participated in my first breast cancer walk and with an oddly felt longing, wished I were running the 5k instead of walking it. And I thought, “Next year, I will do that…I will run it”, but I didn’t. Chalk it up to intimidation. I had never ran a 5k and I had not ran anything over a mile since probably high school, so I let my own doubts about what I was capable of doing talk me out of it year after year.

But this year was different almost from the very start. Tragedy after tragedy after bad news after crappy circumstances have left the scales harshly tipped toward the negative. So much so that I often wonder if enough good things can even happen this year to bring the scale back into balance, let alone tip it ever so slightly toward the positive. And that is a hard thing to admit, especially to myself, because I am, if nothing else, an optimist through and through.

So this year, as the breast cancer walk approached and I learned that both my buddy Nifer AND the mother of my softball sister, Karen, had been diagnosed with breast cancer, I said YES. I got inspired! I stepped up and decided to kick that intimidation to the curb just like I hope they will kick this shit out of their lives permanently.

So about three weeks ago, I purchased new running shoes and turned my almost everyday walks into training opportunities with my trusty iPod at my side. I built up my endurance as best I could and set what I thought was a realistic goal for the actual 5k…finish it in 36-45 minutes and walk as little as possible.

Outfitted in my Mizunos with a new iPod playlist, called RUNNING!  (yes, that is exactly how it appears…in all caps because running requires that kind of motivation for me), I set-off this morning at 8:15am for the Boobies on my first ever 5k run. And you know what…it was tough and running still sucks…but I did it and I even ran most of it. Oh wait…I more than just did it…I surpassed my goal with an official time of 33:21.35, which is an average mile time of 10:45. Saawweeeett! Way better than the goal I had set!!

So I guess the moral of my little story is this…life is short, play hard, try not to let doubts or your own preconceived notions about what you can or cannot do get in the way of what you’re actually capable of doing. The truth is…you are capable of so much more than you think! Like running your first 5k in under 36 minutes or losing over 85 pounds or even beating breast cancer. It’s all possible and that’s the beauty of trying.