Hitting the pavement

(Lester, running with the Jim's)
Lester Burnham: I figured you guys might be able to give me some pointers. I need to shape up. Fast.
Jim Olmeyer: Are you just looking to lose weight, or do you want increased strength and flexibility as well?
Lester Burnham: I want to look good naked!
exerpt from film: American Beauty

I have always wanted to be a runner. I have longed to find that rhythm, to push myself past what I thought was my limit, to feel that addiction that runners seem to have. When I was in 8th grade I decided I was going to run track, but after I realized just how much running you have to do, I quit after only one day. In my early teens I was diagnosed with sports-enduced asthma so I stuck to activities that didn't strain my breathing too badly. It was also my excuse for why I couldn't run.

Now I have several friends who run and I have this jealousy creep up when I hear about the marathons and half-marations... Even a 5K sounds amazing to me. About a year ago I decided I was going to melt off the rest of my baby weight by working to achieve my long-term goal. Four weeks into my running program, my appendix nearly ruptured and I had to have it removed emergency style. Six weeks of recovery and "no vigerous activity" sent me back to square one and I haven't gone back to it since.

The other day, my sister (who ran her first half marathon back in May) sent me a link for The Race for Education 5K/10K, to take place October 10th. At first I dismissed it because let's face it, August is not the best time of year to begin training for a marathon. But after talking with her and mulling it over, really, why not? Addie and I already take walks frequently during the week--this would just kick it up a notch.

Part of me wants to do it to finally reach that goal. I want to be able to say to my husband, "Hey, do you mind watching Addie for a bit? I feel like going for a run." And I want to say "Oh, this weekend? I'm running a 5K." (Even though it's only 3 miles, it sounds so cool.) So this morning, instead of a more leisurely stroll, I brought along my stop watch and started doing the intervals. The funny thing is, that while I was working up quite a sweat, I wasn't thinking about how cool I was, or how well I was doing, or that this is really going to get me in shape... All I could think of was Lester's line in American Beauty. Yeah, I suppose that's true too.