Reaching a Goal

I generally don't like to set goals for myself. It seems like most of the time I have great intentions and awesome initial enthusiasm--which translates to setting a goal that I just can't reach. Or maybe I set a goal too soon...I haven't really thought through everything (like the work and pain) that reaching some goals requires. Over the course of the last year, though, time and again I have had small nudges toward setting a new goal for myself, one that I never in a million years would have imagined doing. I have always hated sports and athletic activity of any kind. I think there are several reasons for this, and I won't bore you with them. Let's just say that I was never good at sports and didn't like exercising so it has always been a struggle for me. In school when we would have to do the 1/2 mile or mile jog, I jogged for about 1 minute and walked the rest of the way. I enjoy walking and have done that quite regularly over the last 10 years or so, but I NEVER have had the desire to run...until now. Now, when I say running don't get the wrong idea. I am moving a little faster (barely) than when I walk, but for me this is running. :o) (I realized exactly how slow I move when Quinn and Clara accompanied me one morning. Clara walked part of the way and kept right up with me as I was running. Quinn kept getting way far ahead of me and circling back around to stay with us.)

Finally, this past September I decided enough was enough. I had been thinking about this idea and dismissing it for too long. I had heard friends talk about getting into running when they were my age or older (so I didn't feel justified using the "I'm just too old" excuse). On September 17 I completed my first run...which consisted of alternating between jogging and walking at 1 minute intervals. Over the next 9 weeks the runs gradually lengthened and walks slowly decreased and finally I had worked up to a 30 minute run. Since I started, my shoes, iPhone and I have logged 495 minutes of running! The last session of the program happened to fall on a cold, rainy morning and I just wasn't feeling that great. But I refused to let that stop me from completing this goal. I had gone through pain and hard work to get that far and I wasn't about to have to admit that I "almost" got there. What a feeling when I was done!! I almost cried :o)

On Thanksgiving morning, Quinn, Clara and I are going to participate in the Drumstick Dash...a run benefiting Wheeler Mission in Indianapolis. We will be running 2.3 miles. It's the short "fun run," but I am excited to have been able to work toward this and I'm confident that I'll be able to run the whole thing. The best part...after the morning run there will be no guilt about the Thanksgiving meal :o)