VICTORY is MINE

Have you ever done something you thought you couldn't? Seriously, I NEVER thought I would do more than a 5K (3.1 miles) running. "I'm not a distance runner," is what I usually say. And it's true, I'm not...until NOW!!

Just yesterday, I played soccer. Sunday is also the day when my "long" run is scheduled (as are most long runs on a marathon training schedule I assume). I wondered, How on earth am I going to be able to do it?, I'm nuts!!, and I'm really going to have to eat more if I'm training like this, were the thoughts running through my head as if they were competing in their OWN race.

SUCK IT UP PRINCESS is what I eventually told myself and got moving before I WAS too tired. The heat was unbearable (it's been over 100 degrees for so many days, I've lost count), so I couldn't take it to the street...waiting would have meant defeat. So, I dragged my booty up to my clubhouse and faced...THE DREADMILL!!!

It's NOT the ideal form of exercise, but at that moment, the A/C made me think WINNING! So I hopped on.

Starting out, I was more like the tortoise...slow and steady!! I had stretched some before facing my fear of not being able to finish, so I felt comfortable. 1.5...snails could move faster...increase speed to 2.5...pretty sure this is STILL too slow...4.0...okay, this is a pretty fast walk...I'm okay with this.

At some point, I decided that it was going to take me LONGER that way, so I needed to find the strength to push myself. I increased the speed to 7.0 and ran. It was probably 1/4 of a mile...maybe a little longer before I had to slow back down to the 4.0 pace. But, I continued to do this for a while.

1 mile gone...2 miles gone...3 miles gone and I'm half way there...the pace continued with alternating between 7 mph and 4 mph until somewhere in the 5 mile range my legs started to cramp and I refused to get injured. So, I slowed it down and did more walking at the 4 mph pace. When I felt I could increase again, I chose to only go to 6 mph. I was impressed with my ability to continue the jog/run longer than I was at the 7 mph pace. It felt great, and I watched the 6 mile mark approach.

Finally, at 78:46, my feet didn't fail me, and I crossed the finish dot...an enormous smile spread across my face, and I felt like I truly accomplished something. Earlier that day on Facebook, I posted "NEVER be afraid to try something new. Amateurs built the ark, and professionals built the Titanic." This was definitely NEW...I tried it...VICTORY WAS MINE!!