I’m on vacation this week with the kiddo so what do I decide to do? Run.
Yesterday was my first attempt at running the route I plan to use for the 5k race in April. I wanted to see if it really was the proper distance and yup, it really is.
My plan was to walk out the first mile and a half then walk/run back. The first part of that worked out great! The latter half was more like walk/run/limp/curse/run/walk… But I did it. I cannot ignore the fact that I DID IT.
I had planned to run again today but my knees hurt SO BAD, I did more of a power walk/light trot:
And to be honest, with the way my legs are I probably should have just stayed off my feet for the day. This time I ran with braces on both knees and one on my right ankle. It was easier but I had to stop for every five seconds to pull the braces back into place. What a giant pain in the ass.
To put a little history on this, I started running using the C25K app in September of last year. Back then, a 30 minute light run would leave me feeling like I’m gonna die. I was 220 pounds (and I’m 5’7″). Now I’m 210 and it takes me 2 miles to make me feel like I’m going to die. I’ve been steadily getting faster and stronger.
To be clear, I am not doing this to lose weight. Completing a 5k has been something on my bucket list for over a decade but I could never get it done. During my marriage, my self-esteem was in the shitter and I was continuously sabotaged whenever I tried to improve myself. Now that that toxic person is out of my life, I made a promise to myself to be everything he tried to keep me from becoming. Skinny is not one of those things. I want to be strong and healthy.
The first run I did with the kid (who is signed up for the race with me) and both of us barely made it. Today, I did the run alone and yes, my knees are killing me.
But it does feel great that every day, I put miles on these knees and I can tell I’m getting stronger.
