My First 5K. It's All Downhill From Here

Sooo.....right after Christmas I overheard a friend of mine say she was training for a half-marathon.  I piped up that I would love to train with her.  She said the race was 4 months away and I thought "Hmmm....I can do that!"  So I went home all excited, sat down at the computer, and began to research training.  Now, let me explain something.  I am, and always have been, a walker.  Sometimes walking 3 miles, sometimes 5.  I will do it for months straight then stop for whatever reason.  I am not a member of a gym, nor do I have any indoor exercise devices.  I have ALWAYS walked outside.  Periodically, (and by that I mean anytime in the past 20 or so years) I have tried to run.  I more gallumph than run.  I just never was good at it, so I never stuck with it.  That being said, after spending the last 2 months fighting a crippling depression where I was mostly in bed, I knew I was literally starting from scratch.  But, really needing something to obsess over, I pressed on with my research.  Oh it would be no problem to do a half-marathon, I discovered.  As long as you are currently running 8 to 10 miles weekly, 4 months is a great training period.  Um....yeah....the only running I was doing was running back to my bed after I unlocked the door in the afternoon to let the kids in from school.  And now, on a new anti-depressant, just staying awake felt like exercise.  Oh.  And I am 44.  But then my husband suggested that I start with something a little more feasible.  Why don't I do a 5K?  So after doing a bit of research I found a race in Nashville that was exactly 2 months away.  I clicked on the link, signed up, and "Operation Butt Off the Couch" became a reality.

Now I am 2 weeks into "training."  I am still terrible at running.  I believe a tortoise AND a snail would smoke me.  But, after finding a 2 month training schedule for a 5K called "Couch to 5K" (which describes me to a T), I am trying.  At this point I cannot tell that I am improving, except that I am adding distance to my walks.  And my neighborhood is HILLY.  So, in all honesty, right now I am really just running downhill.  My calves are sore, but oddly enough, the backache that has been plaguing me for months is pretty much gone.  Maybe it's the stretching.  Whatever it is, I'll take it.  I sincerely hope to run this sucker.  I may have to run and walk it.  But on ST. Patrick's Day, early, eaaaarrrllllyyyy in the morning, I am going to be there.  Walk, run, whatever.......I will do it.  Hopefully running.  I don't have running shoes because I invested in a very expensive pair of walking shoes over the summer and cannot justify the cost of running shoes just yet.  My clothes are dorky old mom clothes, as I haven't bought any sleek, brightly colored Under Armor yet either.......but.......eff that.  I'm going to do it anyway.  Clomping, with my weird running gait, pushing up my glasses as they fall down my nose.  Hey, my Mom did 5K's when she was 44, and she had a toddler!  SO, using her as my inspiration, and because I cannot allow stupid depression to win, I am going to try this thing.  I'll let ya' know how it goes.