Training Day 1

And Da Running Man . . . starts the journey with a bang. Today I started my walk into the unknown and as I go I know I will learn more and more about who I am. It started with the fact that I decided that I was going to a nearby lake to do my first run. I wanted to go by myself so that I could concentrate on the task at hand and have some alone time. That was short lived as my family wanted to go, which turned out to nice. It kind of shifted my focus, quickly. I was extremely nervoius this morning and praying and hoping I could do this. You could even say I was scared, really scared. As I got dressed, my body felt old, as I stretched I felt unprepared, and as I got closer to leaving the house I felt like I couldn't do it.

As I look back I realized that it wasn't that I was afraid that I couldn't do it, I was afraid I could. If I started and was successful, then what. As I ran I concentrated on the pod cast "From Couch to 5K" by Robert Ullrey. I also tried to work on my ChiRunning form. It was good to have the podcast tell me what I needed to do without looking at my watch. I know I will get better and faster, but it will be nice to not focus on my form and just enjoy the surroundings and my run.

So what was I thinking . . . ON MY GOODNESS!! I thought about my family. Could I do it, and would they become proud of me. I thought of my knees. They feel great now, but will I be able to walk to the car. I thought of my back. Wow this hurts am I doing something wrong? I thought of the future. Can I really do this? What if I can't? Who will I let down.

All the answers were great. My wife who I knew would be supportive, but the surprise was from my 4 year old who asked me several times how was the run and why I was doing it. I was able to tell him, that it went well and that Daddy wants to do it to get in shape to be around longer for him. Daddy wants to do it for himself so that I can feel good about my body. Daddy also wants to do it to give to others. I couldn't tell him that I wanted to run a charity 5k for breast cancer. I have seen what it has done to families, and I think that if it ever affected my wife, I would be devastated. Although I couldn't tell him everything, I think he kind of got it, but most of all . . . he made me think of why I was really doing it. Although those were the first things that came to my mind, deep down I knew there would be more that will come out the more I run.

Today's scale of success: 8
Why? My knees do not hurt. I shared it with my family. I faced my fears. I started and finished!!!