the first three miles

It all started a couple months ago. At the gym I pretty much lived on the elliptical, occasionally would venture over to the stair master if I was feeling really brave, and wouldn’t get within 10 feet of the treadmill. I hated running in gym class in high school, and believe me when i say that was definitely the last time in my life I attempted to run any distance, and even then I’m not sure I ever made it the full mile without stopping to walk at some point. but one day i looked up from my elliptical and saw a woman about my age and weight running and for some strange reason I thought “… well, if she can do it.. maybe I can do it…??” so I jumped on the treadmill and within a couple weeks was running a full 12 minute mile for the first time in my life.

I was having lunch with my friend Anna who ran a half marathon earlier this year (thats 13.1  miles incase you didn’t know.. yeah, she’s a rockstar) when she innocently asked me how this new running thing was going and how far I had gotten. I told her I was up to about 1.75 miles without stopping at a pretty decent pace and she quickly responds, “oh great! well then you’ll be up to the three miles by November 17th no problem! we’re running a 5K!”

uhhh, WHAT?! me? run a 5K? i tried in my most persuasive ways to convince her that she would be better off running by herself and that just because I could run on a treadmill that didn’t mean i could run the same outside (its WAY harder to me!), but she wouldn’t let me up from the table without putting it in my calendar and promising to show up on the 17th ready to run.

So week by week I pushed myself a little harder and adopted Proverbs 3:5 as my verse for this season “Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Never rely on what you think you know.” don’t rely on what you THINK you know. when i would get tired and think “there’s no way i can do that extra .5 mile..” i would just repeat that over and over again…

don’t rely on what you think you know… just do another .25 mile… don’t rely on what you THINK you know… okay you did that last .25 mile when you didn’t think you could, that means you can do one more!… and every time i would push past my previous distance/time to the point where I was running for an hour straight, when I originally didn’t think I could even do one full mile.

So last weekend I showed up with my running shoes on, and a lot of nerves in my belly. Like I said running outside is SO much harder to me than at the gym, and I knew there must have been a reason that Anna never showed me the course we’d be running, despite my asking her several times to go walk it with me before the 5K. Smart Sneaky lady, if I’d seen how many hills we’d be running before hand I would have been tempted to lock myself in my house that morning. I didn’t have any big goals for a specific time, I just wanted to finish it. My aunt Melanie and Laura were both in town and decided literally the night before to run it with us which was a fun surprise! That first mile is the hardest. Always. I knew if I could get through the first half of it then the rest would be just counting down to the finish line the rest of the way. I literally could not have done it without Anna who talked to me and encouraged me the entire way; who would kick my butt into gear and literally pull me along in those moments where I was tempted just to sit down and bail on the whole thing. Oh, and did I mention Anna is about halfway through her pregnancy at this point?! yep thats right, that mama to be can run circles around all of you!

So now I can officially say I completed my first 5K… and that i enjoyed every sip of that peppermint hot chocolate I rewarded myself with afterwards :)

So thankful for this friend who continually pushes me, encourages me, and knows me well enough to always find that perfect balance between the two. Thanks for loving me well friend :)


Happy Monday!

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  1. […] stop once I hit 1,000, it has become the best way to end my day: 3- the number of miles I ran when I completed my first 5K back in […]

  2. Nicole says:

    I am SO proud of you. <3

  3. Anna says:

    Oh friend – YOU got to the end of that race! I am so proud of you for completing it. I truly believe that after running a real race you change your whole perspective. You feel and you KNOW you can do anything (however impossible it may seem) when you buckle down and put your mind to it. I cannot tell you how many times I will be facing a really tough situation in my life and I will remember those big hills and think “this is really tough right now, but there will be a crest, and then it will be downhill.” It is an amazing metaphor for life’s everyday, and I am sure you will reflect on it often. Much love to you!

  4. mel avjean says:

    That was one of my funnest days ever! I am grateful for God’s divine timing that Lu and I happened to be in town and we could share that experience with you. YOU are a rock star and Anna is a blessing! I am so happy that she was there to guide and encourage you.
    I had a fabulous day! Thanks for letting me tag along!
    xoxo~ mel

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