#run

Running. I was the person who said " If you see me run then you need to run because something is chasing me." I HATED running in P.E... I "hustled " badly in marching band no matter how much Mr. Jones yelled.
September of 2018 I really looked at a picture of myself at Zak's birthday party.  I was embarrassed to say that was me.  I had chins and rolls and was in a size 20/22. ( dont tell anyone... that is still embarrassing) I decided I wanted to do something.  So I downloaded an app called Couch to 5K. I set out to run. I don't know why, but that is what I wanted to do.  I wanted to run and I wanted to get medals for finishing.
Run 1 day 1 gave me 30 min. I went .92 in that 30 minutes ...
That means it would have taken me closer to 35 or 40 minutes to make it a mile. I remember how hard it was to jog for 30 seconds at a time. Most of those times I didnt make it the full 30 seconds. I was exhausted and sweaty when I got back. My head hurt, my body hurt... it was terrible, but I kept going. I wasnt worried about weight or looks. I simply wanted to do it. I wanted to run a mile. I will spare you all the progressive details. Those are for another post. Today I run a 14.30 minute mile.  My record for a 5k is 43.50 minutes.  My 10k record is 1:33:44. My 15k record is 2:26:42.  My first half marathon is set for 10/12/19.
My records were made to be broken. They were all set over the last 11 months so the girl who ran 9.41 miles in January and finished in 2:26:42 is not the same girl who is writing this today. I will not be the same when I go back to Charlotte in February of 2020 to run that 15k again.

My goal was to run and get a finisher medal for 12 months. 1 year. That year is up next month. When I cross the finish line of the Tunnel to Tower 5k in Columbia,SC, I will have achieved that goal. More on that later.
I am not a size 20/22 anymore.  I am a 16/18. I am not horribly far from 14/16. My son thinks I am a champion who has won every race I've signed up for, I have a medal after all.
When you run you compete against the person your were yesterday.  So, he is right. I win. I am the champion (*enter queen song here) .
I will keep running.  I will lace up my Brooks Ghost 12 shoes. I will set my garmin forerunner 235. I will break more personal records. I will get faster. I will run Boston one day. 
And I WILL figure out the best way to carry the most water during a race.  (Seriously,  I thirst to death in between water stations...) #H2O