to I don't really have an actual, written bucket list. Just things in my head I'd like to do in my lifetime.
One of those recent items is completing a full marathon. To begin the story, let me paint the picture for you when I was younger.
I was THE slowest kid in our class when we first had to complete the 1-mile run in elementary school. I have no idea what my time was, but I remember vividly being the slowest. I don't mean to be incredibly mean, but I was by no means an overweight child; I was average. So it stung a little when I wasn't even as fast as those who weighed a lot more than me.
I went out for every sport in middle school just because that's what you do in a small town. I played volleyball, basketball, and ran/threw in track. I, again, was not very fast or good, but I slowly improved. We still had to do that presidential fitness test I loathed every year. By the end of 8th grade, I was usually about the 4th or 5th girl to finish in the 1-mile run. I placed the same in the 1-mile run in track meets too.
In high school, I didn't run my freshman year in track. I decided to go out for track in my sophomore and junior years. I tried running, but quickly realized I am by no means a "sprint" runner, but I also wasn't fast enough to really be competitive in the long distances. I threw javelin, discus and did long jump instead. We still had to "run" some during practice, but nothing too intense. I also knew I needed to stay healthy since I wasn't really in sports sophomore, junior and seniors years other than cheerleading and swimming. I took the weightlifting class. It was awesome to see myself improve in strength. Though I would question the approach of our teachers. It was always to lift more. Now that I know a few more things about weight training, I know that is not always the smart approach to fitness. I digress...we ran for 15 minutes every other day and then did core work, then weights. Great workout for an hour and a half, really! We still had our fitness tests. You had to run 2 miles in 15 minutes. I did that several times so I was proud of that. I came a long way since being the slowest girl in my class.
In college, I didn't really do much exercise during school. I walked, of course, everywhere so that was a lot of my workout. During the summers, I ran, rode my bike and walked a lot, too. The summer of my sophomore year I got serious about losing weight and making better choices. I ran almost every day and lost 45 lbs.
The story of today. My exercise habits have ebbed and flowed from the age of 19-24. There are months where I really get into it, and long periods I do nothing. When I became engaged, I knew I wanted to look my best so I began running. My sister-in-law coaxed me into the Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving. It was hard....seriously. Looking back, I laugh at how easy the out and back, flat, 3-mile course is, but it was hard my first time. I didn't follow the training plan like I should have. It was also 16 degrees that day.
A lot has changed in 2 years (it'll be 2 years ago I ran my first 5k on Thanksgiving). I have since completed 20 or so 5Ks, two 10Ks, and two half marathons. I know to remain healthy and be the healthiest I can be before pregnancy, I have to run. I don't really enjoy it until I see the results or the feeling of completing the long run I have never done before or beating a time. But, I know it's good for me. So what's the next goal? Complete the 2013 OKC full marathon! Not sure what I'm really getting myself into, but I look back and think if you would have asked me two years ago if I ever thought of running 13.1 miles, I would have said, you're crazy. Now I am just fully crazy instead of half crazy, so cheers to 25 weeks of training!
More to come later on training and why the OKC race.
*~*What is on your bucket list? Have you done something you never thought you'd do? Please share in the comments!*~*
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