My First 5K Memories

I remember my first 5K. It was in April 2002. During 2001, I had lost about 50 lbs. During 2002, I started running. It started out because I wanted to lose the last 10 lbs. I wasn't doing enough cardio and realized as I got fitter and fitter, that it became easier. I am a runner at heart, and that's where it ends unfortunately. My heart.

I love running. I love the feeling of running. I love how I feel after I run. Running is in my heart, if only my body would agree now. I'm a slow runner. In my mind, I run very fast :) but in reality, I run slow. This wouldn't be so bad if I wasn't so competitive. So I started out slow back in 2002. I would go out once a week to a local park and walk on their marked trail. I started out walking 1 mile and worked my way up to 2 miles, then 3. Then, I slowly started running. First time, 1/4 of a mile, then 1/2 mile, then 1 mile, week after week. This took months. Eventually I got to the point where I was running the whole time and not walking. One day I went to the park and there was a 5K race going on. I decided to run anyway, just staying out of everyone's way. A guy asked me why I wasn't running the race and I told him I just came to run 3 miles. Well, duh, that's how long the race was. Really? I could run that far?

Let me just say, when you are overweight or used to being overweight for a long time, running a race, a 5K, seems out of reach and impossible. All of a sudden a light went on and it came to me. I could run! When I started 2002, I had specific weight goals to get me to my final goal. My prize for meeting that goal was to run my first 5K. I was so excited and motivated. I wanted to run! And I did. It was in Marietta, an hour away. My sister and I drove together and my parents came. My husband stayed home with the kids because I'm sure he thought this was a fleeting thing. The last song I heard on the radio was "I Will Survive" by Gloria Gaynor. This song stayed in my mind the entire race, over and over.

The race is a blur, I just remember telling myself over and over, you can do it, you can do it, just don't stop. I didn't stop. I ran slowly, but I didn't stop. I don't even remember my time, I did for years, but now I don't! I finished and that was what I remembered. I remembered seeing my sister and parents and crying that I had actually done it. An overweight, middle-aged woman had just run her first 5K. And that's when it started. I kept running. I love running!

Over the years, I have kept running and I still love it. I still run slow. Everything is right with the world when I run. It is my therapy after years of using food as a pill. I don't take pills anymore, I run. I don't shove things under the carpet anymore, I run. I don't hate, I love and I run.

I am starting a new program this Fall that I am very excited about. I am training a group of women who have never run a 5K to run. We will meet once or twice a week and I am going to teach them how to run. I am going to teach them how to love their bodies, whether they are at their goals or not, and I am going to teach them how to love running. If you know of anyone who would benefit from this program, please visit my website to get more info - www.startwiththeinside.com. The program is called "Run for the Health of It". You don't have to know how to run, you'll learn like I did. And I hope I can help someone who needs help like I did. That's my true goal!