As I was disinfecting the tables yesterday morning toward the end of class, one student was left in the room working on his program. He looked up when I approached and said, "Congratulations on a great job!" I was thinking: "Wow! this just made my day...someone complimented me on my cleaning skills!" He then pointed to my badge and said, "I noticed your picture. How much have you lost?"
I don't pay too much attention to this photo and most days I forget it's even there. But, what she represents is 170 pounds of excess, 170 pounds of blood, sweat and tears shed. She symbolizes a person who didn't believe in herself, who thought even running 1 mile was an unattainable dream...Well, even beyond the realm of dreams, more like fantasy. When I have time to reflect, I ask myself if this is real? Am I really doing this? Did I really lose all this weight or will I wake up in my former shell? Yes, it's real and I can do anything I put my mind, body and soul to. I want to ride a roller coaster without fear or embarrassment. I want to run a half marathon, a marathon and ultramarathon. I want to learn martial arts (particularly jujitsu). I want to climb another mountain (something a little more challenging than my first, Gloss Mountain in Oklahoma http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glass_Mountains). But first, maybe I should update the picture? :-)
My First
October 2010, My First 5K
Showing posts with label dreams. Show all posts
Showing posts with label dreams. Show all posts
Friday, May 27, 2011
Saturday, May 7, 2011
Ode to Running and the 5K
About 7 months ago, I started running races. I didn't realize how much passion I would have for it. It's kinda crazy to think about life without it!
It started out as a dream. Three years ago, I started thinking about running, although I couldn't run at all. It just seemed like it would be fun and graceful, like a bird gliding in the breeze. When I told people about my dream to run, some people said, "that's cool" and some just laughed at me like I was nuts. One person actually told me, "You will never be able to do that." It didn't help at the time, but it's always been a driving force behind me going further.
And so today, I waited for the gun, thinking about how many of my dreams have come true in the past 7 months and how many are left. Today was graduation day.
You really helped me, 5K, discover my potential. But now, it's time to move to bigger races, to bigger dreams, to bigger obstacles. Don't worry....I'll visit you from time to time as my training progresses....
Now, for the fun stuff...my results:
Since the Gate River Run 5K, I have improved my time by 3 minutes. I ran this race today without stopping. I kept repeating: "slow, but steady wins the race."
At the first mile, I had to blink my eyes several times to make sure I wasn't dreaming: 11:20!! Second mile was 11:50 and third mile I think was in the 13 minute range (need to work more on keeping a consistent pace!). Overall, I finished the race in 36:41, my pace being 11:50. Woohoo in the 11-minute range! :-)
It was a beautiful morning to run...even got a suprise on my windshield--Florida snow! (ash from a wildfire!) I did a pretty good job on picking a target to follow--Thank you guy in the yellow shirt and green shorts...and thank you for letting me pass you the last mile...it was fun while it lasted!
What's next? I'm contemplating doing the Never Quit Beach Fest 5K in a few weeks, because I want to run on the beach so bad! I will probably do a 5K every few months or so. But my main focus is now the monster half marathon!
Thanks for reading! :-)
It started out as a dream. Three years ago, I started thinking about running, although I couldn't run at all. It just seemed like it would be fun and graceful, like a bird gliding in the breeze. When I told people about my dream to run, some people said, "that's cool" and some just laughed at me like I was nuts. One person actually told me, "You will never be able to do that." It didn't help at the time, but it's always been a driving force behind me going further.
And so today, I waited for the gun, thinking about how many of my dreams have come true in the past 7 months and how many are left. Today was graduation day.
You really helped me, 5K, discover my potential. But now, it's time to move to bigger races, to bigger dreams, to bigger obstacles. Don't worry....I'll visit you from time to time as my training progresses....
Now, for the fun stuff...my results:
Since the Gate River Run 5K, I have improved my time by 3 minutes. I ran this race today without stopping. I kept repeating: "slow, but steady wins the race."
At the first mile, I had to blink my eyes several times to make sure I wasn't dreaming: 11:20!! Second mile was 11:50 and third mile I think was in the 13 minute range (need to work more on keeping a consistent pace!). Overall, I finished the race in 36:41, my pace being 11:50. Woohoo in the 11-minute range! :-)
It was a beautiful morning to run...even got a suprise on my windshield--Florida snow! (ash from a wildfire!) I did a pretty good job on picking a target to follow--Thank you guy in the yellow shirt and green shorts...and thank you for letting me pass you the last mile...it was fun while it lasted!
What's next? I'm contemplating doing the Never Quit Beach Fest 5K in a few weeks, because I want to run on the beach so bad! I will probably do a 5K every few months or so. But my main focus is now the monster half marathon!
Thanks for reading! :-)
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
In A Dream...
Up until now, the image of myself in dreams was fuzzy. I could never quite make myself out. All I knew is that I was like everyone else; I fit in. But on Easter morning, I awoke to only remembering a segment of a dream. I could see myself in the glass, professionally dressed. My figure, my outline so vivid, so distinct. And this image was me, how I look now, not how I want to look or think I should look. The only thing out of place: I was wearing glasses, albeit I wouldn't mind wearing those because they looked really nice!
This dream is confirming how I've been starting to feel. I no longer see myself as this shadowy, fuzzy figure. I now see myself as a unique individual, who is no longer ashamed. I've got a long ways to go, but at least it's a step in the right direction!
This dream is confirming how I've been starting to feel. I no longer see myself as this shadowy, fuzzy figure. I now see myself as a unique individual, who is no longer ashamed. I've got a long ways to go, but at least it's a step in the right direction!
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