Taking Charge, Doing Something Scary, Entering a 5k!

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If you know me, you know that the Olympics make me giddy.  I like them for the stories: the emotion the athletes go through and that you get to go through with them, and all of those other ups and downs, sure.  That's almost the best part.  Almost.

What I love most about them, what really, really drives me to the giddy is their power to inspire.  Sure, little kids (and adults alike) watch with stars in their eyes and think, "Wow, I really can do anything!"  And while that's powerful in and of itself, it's still not what I'm talking about.

What makes me giddy is what they do directly for and inside of me.  



If you know me, you know that I have my ups and down cycles with working out.  BUT, what always drives me back to it after a hiatus is that I LOVE working out.  I love pushing myself; I live for the feeling of trying something that is hard and succeeding.  I'm just one of those people who really does get addicted to the high of it all.

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Why does all this matter??

Well, after watching the Olympics this year, a documentary about the Ironman Triathlon, & the actual broadcast of the world championship Ironman Triathlon, I've decided that it's time for me to push myself farther than I ever have before.  It's time to give myself a goal to work towards, something public that I can be scared of, even right up to the very moment that I'll do it, and then do it, and then look for more!

So....I'm challenging myself to take my love for working out to the streets and actually start entering races.  This is something I NEVER, EVER, thought I'd do in a million years and just the thought of it makes me want to cry it's so scary.  I've watched friends train for and do races, one even pretty quickly after she had her child, so that's pretty remarkable.  But my response was never, "Oh, yea, rock on, I'd love to join you."

Until now.  It's time.  I just turned 30 a month ago.  This is my public declaration that before I'm 40 I WILL complete at least one triathlon.  It certainly won't be an Ironman, but, you know what?  That's not what the scary part is for me.  It's the publicness of it.  It's the being ready.  It's the crowds.  It's telling others I'm doing it and doing it.

This plan will take A LOT of support.  A LOT of training.  Dedication.  Time.  Effort.  Fear conquering and the ability to push through utter disappointment.  But I'm doing it.

First step?  I'm researching 5k's right now to do this fall.  I don't think I'm ready, but I don't care.  When are you ever ready?  I can run that far at once, not fast, but I can do it.  So why should I wait?   Once I get this race under my belt, I'll take it from there, but this is big news & big excitement for me!