Tuesday, March 09, 2010

BREAKTHROUGH

There’s an old saying that it takes three days to develop a bad habit and three weeks to develop a good one. I’m going to modify that old saying a bit as it seems to take me only three minutes to develop a bad habit—while the good ones, it seems like I battle with forever.

But I did have a breakthrough yesterday.

After six weeks of struggling with short sprints/walking in my 5K training and seemingly getting nowhere, I finally made significant progress. Right after I hit the “Publish” button on yesterday’s whiny, negative blog, I tied on my running shoes, girded my loins (whatever that means), steeled my mind, and hit Palm Valley Road.

And I ran without stopping for 1 ½ miles. Without stopping even once. That’s half a 5K.

I didn’t struggle, I didn’t think I was dying, and I wasn’t afraid. I just ran.

I passed a much younger, thinner person walking down the road who smiled encouragingly at me. I passed an old man pushing a toddler in a stroller, holding a dog on a leash, who nodded at me. An 80-year-old man on a bicycle rode past me and said encouragingly, “Lookin’ good!” I ran past a postal worker emptying mail from a blue drop box, and she didn’t even look up, so my panting must not have been EMT-summoningly alarming.

And I ran. Just like Forrest Gump. Well, slower. Much slower. It wasn’t pretty, but I ran.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Sounds like you've got that old "runner's high"! Now you can lay off all the hard drugs you usually do.... Just kidding! Way to go, Mom! s.

Dana @ Bungalow'56 said...

Congratulations, We're rooting for you here in Canada.
Dana

Jenny said...

Yes, the longer runs are easier. The harder ones are the ones with lots of back and forth b/t walking and running. It takes a lot of work for your body to recover and then to start again. Which is why...you'll run the entire 5k splendily!!

middleson said...

nice work!!! it's all about pacing yourself and gradual increases....that's what i've learned in my very short running experiences.
well done and good luck with the training.