I can run :)

I gained 50 pounds when I was pregnant with Brayden. That's a butt load (literally) of weight. I hated it. When he was born, only about 12 pounds came off- the rest was up to me. After about a year of not trying very hard to lose it, I decided to start running. I've always hated running. I was known for my 20 min mile stroll in HS and MS as I talked to my friends. I would have a hard time breathing and hated how much I coughed after running. It was never enjoyable. But in June, I put all of that aside and vowed to run a mile. A MILE! It was going to kill me. As far as I was concerned it was the LONGEST distance known to mankind. I would come home from the gym beat red and would collapse under a ceiling fan for 40 min. I really was going to die. I thought about writing my funeral wishes down right then and there but something kept me going. I think it was how my butt would bounce every time I walked. Yep- that was it. Anyway, I did keep going and by the end of summer I was running 4 miles! I never thought that was humanly possible. I mean, I've seen the pictures of marathons and have "heard" the stories, but I have always known those "people" were really aliens from another galaxy. People could not possibly run that far. That's for CARS to do! But no, here I was running and NOT dying and I wasn't even behind a wheel. So, as school started and Tuacahn kept going on, I had to quit due to lack of time. When Tuacahn ended, I started running again, only to stop because of the broken toe craziness. So, with 2 1/2 months of recovery from that, I was left with only a matter of weeks to get my mileage back up before a 5k on January 23rd. I did the unthinkable and signed up for the race. I ran and ran and ran hoping to regain the miles I had lost. This past week I didn't run at all because of SUPAF and I was worried. I woke up this morning feeling like I was the biggest moron in the world for signing up for such a thing as a race- but I went anyway. I put on my warm clothes and stood among the 2200 people awaiting the 1/2 marathon and the 5k. It was exciting! I was feeling it and ready! The 1/2 marathon started and the 5k peeps took position. We did our count down and set off. I was feeling good for about 2 min. before I realized that this strange thing called "the cold" was setting into my body. See St. George is not cold and I'm not used to it and neither are my lungs. Happens that this whole week has been stormy. So I was having a hard time breathing and it took about 10 min before I really started warming up to the point that I could breath and feel my legs at the same time. I admit that I did not run the whole time, but the vast majority I was trudging along. It was great. The finish line was the best part (of course). I was still yards away and I could hear Anna's voice calling out to me. I looked and couldn't see them until I was passing them. I expected to end with a time of 45 min, but when I crossed that line, it read 37 and some odd seconds. 37 min! What? That was really great for me. My family brought me some flowers and I went and ate some food. We went home and I slept for a half hour and now life goes on. For that brief 37 min, I did something I never thought I could and I completed a goal I never thought I would. There's no ego here- I am pretty low on the running totem pole, but it felt good- really good. I'm shooting for a 10k pretty soon. I guess we'll see how that goes....