What is this magic?

I have never been an athlete. Nor have I ever been considered athletic. I never played organized sports - ever. Not even when I was small. I did gymnastics for a little while when I was young, but not for long. I took dance lessons for a total of maybe 6 weeks when I was in kindergarten.

The most athletic thing I ever did was take figure skating lessons. I skated from first grade through 11th grade. I was never competitive, but enjoyed skating for fun. During my sophomore and junior years of high school, it wasn't unusual for me to be on the ice for 5 or 6 hours a week. I worked as a cashier in order to get free admission to the public sessions. :)

I was an okay skater. In the end, I was capable of a few single revolution jumps. Not consistently, but I had landed them successfully on several occasions. That was when skating kind of fell off for me. I said it was the busyness of senior year, but deep down, that was a lie. It was fear. I was deathly afraid of falling, (and hurting myself) so I never really threw myself fully into the jumps. I'd never achieve a higher level without the power of a full, confident jumper.

Fear will be a recurring theme on this blog. Fear is why I never wanted to play sports. I HATED P.E. I cannot fully express how terrifying P.E. was to me. My absolute favorite part of P.E. was when we would do square dancing. I kid you not. I adored (and actually still adore) square dancing. This is odd since I am a terrible, horrible dancer. Maybe it's not. Square dancing is specific and all about following directions. I'm good at that. :)

Since I've never been athletic, exercising hasn't been something I've ever enjoyed. Especially since I've become 'Fat Me.' I assume that's a major part of how I became 'Fat Me,' but that's another story.

In January I vowed to start exercising more. Seeing as I exercised about once a month before that, I thought it would be no problem. I started walking on the treadmill I convinced my dad and brother to set up in the basement. I tried a little running, but that stopped after 30 seconds and I wanted to die.

I'd have weeks where I was pretty consistent, then times I wouldn't walk for weeks. At the end of March, I had a re-occurring ingrown toenail removed permanently. (Not the whole nail, only the ingrown part.) My big toe was very tender, so that kept me off the treadmill for a long time. Longer than it should have, truthfully.

The month before I had signed up to participate in the Girls on the Run 5K at Forest Park. My school had about eight 5th grade girls participating, so their two coaches (The P.E. and Spanish assistants) wanted other teachers to join in to support them. Pam, our Art teacher, and I were the only ones that signed up. When the walk came in May, I had hardly walked on the treadmill. I was fearful about how it would go. Though Pam is a runner, she said she would walk the whole way with me. I was really grateful for that sacrifice.

The day was rainy and cold. Yuck. Our school name starts with an 'A,' so we were very last in the reverse alphabetical order starting. So, before Pam and I had even reached the end of mile 1, we could hear the announcer saying the names of people as they came across the finish line! Woah.

Before that day, my very fastest mile had been about 19:30. That was only one mile and I had been booking it the whole way. Much to my surprise, Pam kept me energized and moving quickly, and we finished in just under 1 hour.

After the 5k, I didn't do much walking. It wasn't until later in the summer that I decided to hit the treadmill again. This time I tried to incorporate short bouts of running. I started as a very slow and awkward runner! A couple of months of this go by and it's September. A few weeks ago I decided that my New Balance walking shoes were probably not going to cut it for running anymore. I did a bit of research and bought a pair of Brooks Glycerin running shoes. They were a recommended pair AND on sale, so I got them. It's still the most I've ever paid for a pair of tennies!

Now we arrive at today. First, I adore my shoes. They have been super comfortable since the moment I put them on. Also, I have been running significant amounts (for me) this week! Earlier this week I had my fastest mile time since elementary school: 17:48. It's a long time, yes, but fast for me. This included 4 minutes running followed by 2-3 minutes of walking.

Let me define running for me. I have a stride that is comparable to a toddler, so a good paced jog is 3.5 - 3.7 miles per hour. The fastest walking speed I can maintain for longer than 15 seconds is about 3 miles per hour.

Today I have had my biggest success and most running to date. I did one mile in 19:13 (3 minutes run, 3 minutes walk) followed by another mile in 19:27! (Also 3 mins run, 3 walk).  I feel accomplished. And tired. :)

Me before my walk today. Yes, I am rocking a pair of old school headphones. I'm not a big fan of the earbuds.

Thank you to the folks who posted such kind things on my Facebook page yesterday. It made me glad I didn't immediately delete my posts like I wanted to last night. I'm not seeking compliments, but I am grateful for the support. Thank you.