If I Can Distract My Brain, My Body WILL Keep Moving

On Monday night I got home from my toning class at CCAC North and was feeling energetic.  I decided to get on the treadmill even though I had just exercised for an hour already, and I was amazing.  I ran 2 miles at 6.5 mph, far faster than I normally run on the treadmill.

That night I decided to set a goal for the next day - run a 5K (3.1 miles) in less than 30 minutes.

I have already mastered the skill of running a 5K; in fact, some weeks I've run as many as 4 in one week.  But I was always leisurely about it, usually running at about 5.5 to 5.7 mph, which is quite a comfortable pace for me.

Enough with comfortable already, I decided.

So Tuesday night I double knotted my sneaks and hit the treadmill (after a 10 minute warm-up on the exercise bike.)  I put the mph's at 6.5 right from the start, and away I went.

At four minutes in, I breathlessly announced, "I'm not sure if this is going to happen tonight...." Only four minutes in and I was ALREADY out of breath with a side cramp and tight calves?  No way was this going to happen.

So I turned my mind off, focused on the television in front of my face, and told myself that if I was still hurting after 10 minutes I could stop.   I didn't feel great at 10 minutes, but I wasn't dieing either, so I decided to persevere.  I focused on watching the Grey's Anatomy episode from 3 weeks ago and my legs just kept moving.

A little past the 1 mile mark I decided to bump the speed down to 6.4 mph.  After I completed the second mile I bumped it down to 6.3.  But I kept going, and I refused to think about anything other than Meredith and McDreamy's baby woes, Christina's continued fear of surgeries, and that new guy that was hitting on the blond doctor for surgeries.

At 29 minutes and 26 seconds, I crossed the 3.1 mile line.

"Holy shit!" I exclaimed to my husband as I threw my arms in the air.  "Proof!... " *pant, pant, pant*, "That if I can just distract my brain long enough," deep breathe, "...my body WILL keep moving."

It was a huge milestone, and AMAZINGLY huge milestone for me.  My first 5K, under 30 minutes.  One of my long term goals on my "life list" (sort of like a bucket list that I've been keeping, but more geared towards just life in general... I'll have to share it sometime soon!) is to run a 5K in less than 30 minutes, outside.

I'm two-thirds of the way there.

A horribly cheesy running pic from a previous post

 NOTE:  I am fully aware that running a 5k is no big deal for anyone who does any sort of running on a regular basis.  But it IS a big deal for me...  I have incredible admiration for people run 10Ks and half-marathons and - good lord - full marathons.  I can't imagine that I will EVER get to that point.