Go Literacy!

I registered for my first 5K. I'll be running the Go Literacy! 5K on October 2 in Bentonville, benefiting the Literacy Council of Benton County. Somehow, August flew by and this race is only five weeks away! Yikes. I am all kinds of nervous.

When I set my goal to be able to run a 5K, the idea was to actually RUN the whole time and not walk. That's where it gets tough. I'm on level 7 of PodRunner, which is a 5-minute warm up, 25 minute run, and a 5 minute cool down. I've tried this three times, and I've only managed to finish once. The first time I tried was super tough, but I ran the full 25 minutes. But the last two times I've gone out, I end up walking here and there for a minute or so, which sends my confidence and mood plummeting. I should add that Trea runs the whole 25 minutes every time and is out of sight immediately, not to be seen again until we meet back at the car. Again, this does nothing for my confidence or mood. Nothing pleasant, anyway.

PodRunner is a 10-level program, and I have five weeks before the race. So I should be able to finish up just fine and be able to make it, right? Sure. We'll see. The month of September is packed with birthdays, business travel and fun travel, so it's going to be a real challenge to stay on track (no pun intended) and run three times a week.

I'm beginning to wonder if I can actually do this. I don't mean run a 5K; I'll deal with that. I mean, I don't know if I'm cut out to be a runner. I've had a few runs during the last few months that felt really good. I was excited to be out, enjoying nature, happily people-watching and trucking along to the end, slow and steady. But the majority of the time, I struggle with finding the right balance of fuel and sleep so that I don't end up a hot mess on the trail. I start strong, but after about 10 minutes, my feet feel like lead and I start thinking how stupid it is that I'm running in circles instead of taking a nap. Everyone - and by everyone, I mean Trea - makes it seem easy. But I'm having to really push myself to keep going - even when I'm burning up and drenched in sweat, but my skin feels cold and tingly. I don't think that's normal. When I feel like that, I take a walk break. But should I? Should I keep running through the cold tingles and push myself harder? Maybe that's what hard work feels like. Or maybe it's a warning sign before heat exhaustion sets in. I'm really not sure.

I read Runners World and get grandiose ideas of training for a half marathon and traveling to beautiful locations to run in gorgeous places I've never seen before. And then I go out on a local trail and have to stop for a breather on a 2-mile run, while everyone else blows by me. I'm not sure running is for me.

But at least until October 2, I'm going to rock my new Nike booty shorts I got last week at Academy and keep on working until I can run my 5K. Go Literacy!