What Now?

After spending the better part of the last year planning and fundraising for the DC 3-Day and all of my free time the last couple of months training I've been enjoying a little bit of down time.  I've enjoyed some weekend morning snuggle sessions with the boys and leisurely breakfasts with the family.  I've stayed in my PJs way later than I should!

But I'm also feeling a bit at loose ends.  I have a lot of found time that I didn't have a few weeks ago and I don't want to loose the motivation for physical activity I have built up.  I find myself asking "What now?"

I think I'm in need of another challenge.  Something to work towards - to keep me moving forward.  So I've set a goal, one that I have always wanted to do but never thought I had the physical ability to achieve: running a 5K.  (Note: I use the word run VERY loosely).

I'm told I need to sign up for a 5K to keep my motivation high - anyone have a good winter run they would suggest?  It definitely needs to be one that is not super competitive otherwise I will totally chicken out!

To get me there I started the Couch to 5K program once again (I stopped counting after 3 previous failed attempts).  I think I'm in a better place this time.  The 3-Day was a gift in many ways.  It showed me that I am physically much stronger than I ever gave myself credit for, it taught me the difference between muscle aches and true pain that needs treatment, it helped me develop a mental toughness to push through when giving up seems so much easier and it helped me realize that if I put my mind and some time towards something I can get it done.  The walk definitely gave me a confidence in myself that I never had before.  And before that confidence starts to fade I'm going to use it to tackle a 5K!

A couple of people have told me that a 5K should be a piece of cake after walking 60 miles.  And if we were talking about walking I would be in total agreement.  A 5K was a weekend morning warm up.  But we are talking about RUNNING.  This is a huge mental hurdle for me.  I have NEVER run.  I use to find excuses not to participate in the annual 1 mile run physical fitness test in gym.  I only joined sports that did not involve running.  I was an elementary school fun run drop out.  Seriously, my hatred of running goes all the way back to 3rd grade!  This is some deep in-grained fear.

So I'm going to set out like I did for the 3-day.  One day at a time.  One step at a time.  One foot in front of the other.  And just to add a little bit of motivation to the pot, I am not going to make a decision on walking the 3-Day this year until I cross running a 5K off my bucket list.