Couch to 5k

So, outside of all the recent struggles, I have been working on some other things, as well. On the forefront, is working toward running my first 5k. It goes along with helping me reach my weight loss goal, but it’s a separate goal for me. I was losing weight, but being skinnier doesn’t automatically put you in better shape (can you believe it?!) So, I knew I needed to be working out regularly, but I wanted to have some kind of goal to strive for. After going for a run with my sister-in-law, Amber, one evening, it hit me – and we decided we wanted to run a 5k together – RUN it, not run/walk it, RUN it. So, we started looking up local races and decided on the Iowa Remembrance Run. It was a cause we love, and the date worked for us – August 22.
So we started out just running as much as we could, but we didn’t exactly have a game plan for how we were going to work up to running 5k (that’s 3.1 miles, btw) Then, one day while researching the subject, I found something called the ‘Couch to 5k’ program. Jackpot! Not only is the program very similar to one my physical therapist told me about last summer (that would be after I messed up my knee the last time I tried training to run a race – yeah, I didn’t know what I was doing), but there was also more than one app for my iPhone that would help along the way – SCORE! So we started working on that program. It takes you from not being able to run at all, to running 5k in 9 weeks. We’ve stretched it out a little farther than that (we felt like we needed a little more work), but now we’re nearly to the end!
In fact, we’re now just 18 days away from our 5k! The progress we’ve made is amazing. At the beginning, we could hardly run 30 seconds to a minute without feeling like we were going to die… and now? We’re going 25 minutes straight!  Granted, we still need to add another 5 to 7 minutes to get us up to running the whole 5k, but we’re so close! And the sense of accomplishment is amazing! Some days are better than others, of course. Some days I feel like I’m dying (especially those last couple minutes of a run), but even on the tough days, after I’m done it’s such an amazing feeling! The “runner’s high” is no myth! 
So I’m still pluggin’ along. Still working toward my goal. And when I do it (and I will) I’ll have RUN a 5k before my 30th birthday. (yes, 30…this year…but that’s a whole other post!)