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  • Writer's pictureAmanda Woods

Wellness Update #1 – The Thanksgiving 5K Logs #1

As I prepare for the Thanksgiving 5K, I decided it was a good idea to update you all weekly about how I’m doing. So here’s the first update.

I ran my first full mile in almost four years today. It hurt a lot, and not just because it was mostly up a hill.

I’ve been rather lethargic the last few days. No energy, brain dead, too blah to even be bored. Maybe you know what I’m talking about. I suspect its an introvert thing. If you’re a fellow introvert like me, you should check out my post tomorrow for tips on how to be an introvert and still interact with the rest of the world.

Anyways, I was feeling yucky, and I recently got over a cold/virus thing that seems to be going around, so I decided to walk the only place nearby that I can walk. It’s a five and a half mile loop of road. Hard, paved, concrete. There are variations I could take to make it six miles, but five and half is usually enough for me, and there are plenty of hills to keep it interesting. To be fair, it isn’t the only place for me to walk, just the most convenient. So, I set off. A mile and a half in, I decided that walking and trying to run various places over the last month had prepared me enough to run a full mile without stopping. So for the third mile of my route, I ran. And by run I really mean more of a limping shuffle. It was pitiful really, but it was also mostly uphill and I couldn’t breathe, so I didn’t really care.

At the end of that mile, I checked my running app: 11 minutes and 36 seconds. Well, it was a far cry from the 7:29 PR I had in high school – not that that was spectacular either – but it was a starting place. Even if I run the whole Thanksgiving 5K at that pace it’s still only 35 minutes. I’ve run worse, and I still have six weeks before the race.

After my mile run, I still had another two and a half miles to walk. My lungs burned something fierce, and my chest hurt (apparently I need to invest in a better sports bra before race day), but otherwise I felt amazing. I haven’t felt runner’s high since high school, and the clarity is something that stays with you forever. I walked the last two and a half miles slowly and in silence, turning off my iPod and just breathing in the world around me. The air was crisp with the scent of Autumn leaves, and I could hear neighbors fixing their four wheelers, mowing their lawns, chopping firewood. It was peaceful… And then it started raining.

All good things come to an end eventually, and I just managed to make it home before the downpour began, which was lucky. Today was just the first of many there, where I hope to eventually add more running and less walking, even if it is hilly. I don’t know what the course will be like on Thanksgiving, but I guarantee that town doesn’t have as many hills as I do. It’ll be rough, but I think I’m up for the challenge.


Until next time,

Amanda

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