Well what do you know....

So in the past couple of weeks great things have been happening.  I have made several gains in this time period.  Namely I have done two 5k's since spring break.  I know right?!  Hard to believe for me too.

Here is the really crazy part, I did not want to do either one of them.  As you know, I have been doing Camp Gladiator, CG, since November.  While it is hard work and I am physically tired after it is over, I love every minute of it.  During Spring Break, my trainer told us that we would be doing something a bit different for one camp, a 5K.  I did not have to go.  I did not really want to go.  Something inside me told me to try it.  What was the worst that could happen?  1. Not finish  2. Die.  So as nervous and as sick to my stomach as I had been all day, I went.

My friends were there to run with me and cheer me on.  I could not have done it without them.  Now let me just say that I AM SLOW!   I know I am slow when I run.  I will get faster, but right now I am slow.  I knew I would not be able to keep up.  I was fine with that.  As long as I knew the trail to go on and my phone playing tunes, I as good to go.  Right off the bat, I fell behind.  Not only did we have to run, we also had to do exercises between the runs.  While others were doing their exercises, that's when I caught up.

I just kept right on trucking. I walked some, I ran some, I just kept moving.  That is what is important, just keep moving.  Then things started to happen.  My calves which had been killing me, started to loosen up.  My trainer actually slowed down and started to run/walk with me.  She did not have too, but she did. She made sure I kept going.

It was not easy, when I was not even half way finished, there were others in our group coming back for the home stretch.  I got some strange looks from people who were walking dogs or walking themselves.  It was like they had never seen a fat woman jog before.  Did I want to quit? Yes!  Was I out of breath? Yes!  Did I stop? Not on your life.

When I was close to the end, I was tired and worn out.  All I wanted to do was finish.  My legs hurt, my arms hurt, and I could not breathe.  I kept on going though.  My friends were close to the end themselves.  They slowed down to run me back to the end.  One friend even though she had finished came back to help me run the last little bit.  See we have kind of a motto, "We have all been there and nobody gets left behind." How great is that for an exercise group.  I know that right now I am not the fastest or the strongest.  I cannot run for miles like some of my fellow campers, but I will get there.  When I do get there, I am going to make sure that I never leave anyone behind and encourage those who are struggling.

I have two more 5k's to do this year.  Maybe I will do more before the year is over.  You never know with me.  Who would ever have imagined that I would be doing this.

Peace out Peeps and keep on going and going and going....