Yesterday I saw a tweet about REI wanting to feature their members doing something new & adventurous. I jokingly replied:
I told Keith about it, and he said hey, it’s something you should be proud of that you are working towards. And I am. So I thought I would share.
You see, I am not an athlete. While I played volleyball in high school, my love of theatre took over & I ditched sports. I became the person who declared I would only run if someone was chasing me. Over the years, I put on weight – way more than I ever envisioned. Some of that was due to marrying a skinny guy that could cook amazing food, and drink up a storm – without gaining an ounce. Some of it was pure laziness. I also packed on some pounds when I had a delightful gig being a food news writer at Rochester City Newspaper. I’ve always been on the chunky side with curves, but eating out constantly for almost 2 years took its toll.
When we moved down to Georgia, I decided I needed to start shedding some weight & getting back in shape. I started as ‘fresh meat’ doing roller derby with the Burn City Rollers. I loved it! It hurt, it was challenging and I had two cool derby names I was trying to choose from (Bashhouse Bette, or Trillian Astra). Instead, 5 weeks after I started, during practice I broke my leg wearing my new skates. Not only did I bugger the leg up good, I did so much soft tissue damage that from 2/10/10, until the end of June 2010, I couldn’t walk & had surgery to repair my ankle. It was a struggle to be mobile again with a lot of frustrating PT and it wasn’t until November, after my second surgery to remove all the hardware that I got to ditch the cane. I spent a lot of agonizing hours on the recombant bike we bought after that (thank you schwinn for making an affordable one!) just trying to get the range of motion back.
The weight started slowly creeping off but not without challenges. I was also diagnosed with PCOS & IC after a surgery to rip out some of my parts that were causing me grief. That surgery was April 2011. After the news & surgery, I changed my diet and vowed to get even more active. It’s taken some time but here I am. I am on Week 4, Day 1 of the Couch to 5k program. I struggled a bit with this day so I will probably repeat it, and that is okay. I ran for 3 minutes, then 4, then 2 (which should have been 4), then 3 interspersed with walking to build up tolerance. My iphone tells me when to run, and when to walk. I also should clarify that I am not really ‘running’. It’s a jog, or as my friends call it the old lady shuffle or the Wounded Athlete’s Wobble. Either way I am building up my strength one wobble at a time.
So why do I share all of this? While I don’t think I want a camera crew recording my first 5k in all of my wobbly, flabby glory, I do think it’s important to shed the vision of what a runner is. I’ve got a bum knee, a repaired ankle, top heavy with an ample rear, and I am planning on my first 5k in October. My goal? To finish.
Another goal I have decided on (and how does this all relate to our RV travel blog anyway?) - I would like to run a 5k in every state as we travel around in our RV- and hey maybe I will run in every country someday. All I know is I am excited about the future – future travels, future 5k events, the future in general. (and yes, this is me 6 days after being “reorged” right out of a job – I think the exercise has helped with my frame of mind!) I am also so glad that Keith is part of my future – he really does make a fabulous nurse! 
I was told yesterday I was an inspiration on a site I use to track calories (myfitnesspal is pretty awesome). I don’t see it quite yet – but I get that it’s nice to have an inspiration. Mine is a friend that bounced from a suicide attempt & rehab, to having enough stamina & strength to do events a year later.
if one advances
confidently in the
direction of his
dream & endeavors
to live the life which
he has imagined, he
will meet with a
success unexpected
in common hours.
-Thoreau
Here’s to 5k’s in 50 states. 
