I AM a runner!

Well ladies, I did it. I registered for my first race. I'm going to run the famous Bolder Boulder 10k on Memorial Day. I have never done anything like this before in my whole life, and I'm giddy with excitement! Six weeks ago, I thought it would have been impossible, but then I read Alicia's post about running. It was so inspiring to me, I put my shoes right on and ran out the door. I was surprised to find that I ran about 2 and a half miles in under 30 minutes, and I felt like I could do much more. The next day I decided I would just run until I got tired. So I ran about 4 miles in 50 minutes, still felt good, but was bored and didn't know where else to go so I went home. At this point I began to entertain the thought of running the Bolder Boulder. I've always wanted to do it, but as a walk/jogger. I NEVER thought I could run the whole way. I've just never considered myself athletic enough. I looked up 10k training schedules to see what it inolved, and if I had time to get ready. Most of the schedules designed for beginners were 8 weeks long, but started with 2 or 3 mile runs. I decided I would just follow a schedule two weeks in, and see what happened. It's been four weeks and I feel totally prepared! I've run 5+ quite a few times now, and did 6.5 last week. I am AMAZED that my body can actually do this! It is SHOCKING to me. If you knew me, you'd understand. I'm sort of clutzy/lazy/uncoordinated. I was the kind of kid that was picked last for sports. The only organized sport I've ever participated in (besides church basketball) was intermural softball at BYU. I think I made it on base once all semester. Granted, running doesn't require a whole lot of coordination. But still, for the first time in my life I feel physically CAPABLE of something I once considered difficult. And for me, that's miraculous!