And...I FINISHED THE 10K!

Since the last post, I walked the Springtime Tallahassee 10K course, as I was told that it was VERY hilly. And man, it was! I walked the course two weeks ago and timed myself. I meticulously charted the course, and my sweet husband accompanied me on his bike as I recon-ed the course. I made a wrong turn and walked a block out of the way, then back, but I finished in 1:57, 3 minutes from the time limit. I felt really good about being able to finish. Last weekend I did a recovery walk (5K).

All week this week I had been anxious, or eager. I just wanted to get it done. I felt confident until last night when my husband asked if I was nervous. Well, I couldn't sleep, as I think that's typical for race participants, and I had a nightmare that I had walked the course with no minutes to spare. Then I was walking around with my husband, my brother and his wife and I looked over to see people running and I freaked out. "What time is it! Oh My God the race!!" I was trying to get them to take me to the start line and my husband said, "No, you're not going. You already walked it once today. No need to do it twice." He laughed when I told him about this dream.

Then this morning, I had a bit of a panic attack on the way to the race. But I got a hold of myself, I was dropped off and I had some time to get mentally prepared for it. I ran into former colleagues, caught up on life, and then it was time to race!

I was fine, just kept a steady pace and ended up passing people on the course. My husband was at the finish line, texting me words of encouragement. I would text him with each mile I passed. Somehow I missed the Mile Five marker and when I thought I was not going to make it I asked someone if we had passed it and she said "Yeah, .4 miles back!" That gave me the boost I needed. I rounded the next to last hard left when I saw my husband on the sidewalk cheering me on. He walked with me for the last .2 miles. I was pleasantly shocked to find out that the course I walked two weeks ago was longer and the finish line was closer! According to records, I finished 1:46:03 - plenty of room to spare for the time limit.

I wasn't sure if I would get a medal because it was dependent on the number of racers, but I did indeed receive a medal! I felt so good making it through a 10K race. I've been pretty much toast the rest of today, but I think I deserve it.

After the practice walk two weeks ago, I signed up for two more 10Ks. I am having so much fun and I'm really looking forward to training for the half marathon.

One foot in front of the other!!

And life continues to happen...

Haha I started this post back in November, if that gives you any indication of my life...

So back to my first post, I did indeed sign up for a 5K the next month - the TMH for Life Challenge. The car thermometer posted 82 degrees. I had NO IDEA that the heat index was 90 already. Even though the course was shaded, it was incredibly hot. I thought I would DIE on that last hill before the finish line, but I DID IT! And I finished in under an hour.

I remember grabbing a banana and a bottle of water from the refreshment table and making a beeline for my car. I sat there with the AC cranked up on me for a good 10 minutes before I drove home. I actually took a nap after taking a shower. It completely wiped me out, but it felt good to accomplish something.

Unfortunately, I had a serious family crisis to deal with a few days later...my Mom had a bad fall, with a cardiac event occurring. She was in the hospital, had a defibrillator installed, and seven weeks of physical therapy. The exercise journey was put on hold for a while.

After she was stabilized, able to be back in her own home, I resumed my plans for walking races. I signed up for a 5K in October and have competed in a 5K every month since then. My race bibs are proudly displayed on a bulletin board at the office and I even walked in a race last week while recovering from a cold. I've upped my game and have been training for my first 10K next month.

I now have a date for that half marathon - October 15, 2017. I recall the feeling that 5K was my absolute limit. I now feel like that for the 10K. But I'm putting in the miles and my endurance is getting greater and greater. It feels good.

Until next time -

Beginning the Transition

April 30, 2016. My life as a student finally ended. After 13 years. It began with "righting a wrong" and completing my Bachelor's degree, twenty years later. I kept going - two Master's degrees, entering a doctoral program. I passed the coursework and the preliminary exam and struggled to gain footing on a dissertation topic. Life happened. It was too much so I took the EdS degree and got out.

It's weird now.

I don't have to worry about papers, or reading ridiculous amounts of books and journal articles about subjects that people with a life don't care about. I look around my house and see sooo many things that have been neglected over the years. Where do I start?

And a good friend who has been power-walking marathons and half-marathons for 15+ years asked me - every time I graduated - if I was ready to tackle a half-marathon. My answer was always, "when I'm finished with school, we'll talk about it."

We had the talk yesterday. And I think I'm ready to make training plans. We're talking about one in Fall 2017. It's going to take that long to get into shape. Grad school is just hell on your body. I began the journey to getting into shape several weeks ago. I think this will be good for me. I need a goal. God knows I don't need another diploma on the wall, so the goal should be something that benefits my body.

I started looking at 5K races this morning. Gotta start somewhere. I'm thinking of trying one next month.

Stay tuned...