2010 is the year I’m trying different things and kinda going wherever life leads me. With that in mind, I agreed to sign up for the Lansing Race for the Cure 5K run in April.
There is another reason I opted to do this: my mom is a 20-year breast cancer survivor.
Both my mom and my sister have been very involved in the Detroit Race for the Cure for years. I’ve helped out here and there, such as (in)famously offering to be stage security for former-Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick a few years ago.
A group of friends here in Lansing started chatting about the Race via Twitter a few weeks ago, and I decided “oh, why not?” Thus, Team Thanks for the Mammaries was born (if you’re in Lansing and wish to join, search for the #LoveLansing “company” name on the race website).
It hit me last week that I actually needed to train for this thing.
I am not a runner. We tend not to get along. But, some members of my team pointed me to the Couch to 5K training program and sang its praises. After looking over the schedule/routine, I decided “hey, I can do this.”
While studying the routine, I quickly realized why I never had much luck running in the past–I was doing too much, too soon. I liked that this routine has you starting out with a “jog for 60 seconds, walk for 90 seconds” plan.
Thinking back on the past times I’ve tried jogging I remembered that I did nothing like this at all–I just ran and ran for the whole time, without working up to anything.
No wonder I felt like I died each time doing.
Yesterday was my first training run and it was, as the they say in Italian,”non ce’ male.”
Yes, it was cold and I hated having to wait for traffic lights, but darn it, I survived. Better still, I didn’t feel sick afterward.
The only problem, training for running in winter is going to be a challenge (read: snow and/or ice) around here, but I’ll make due.
I opted for the fancy race registration where they give you a chip (not potato) to track your time. So, I guess I am ‘competing.’
Yikes. Wish me luck.
0 comments
I’m impressed you’re running outside already. I’m doing my training on the treadmill. Makes it easier to keep time.
Yeah, well it was more out of necessity than anything 🙂
[…] decided a few months ago to man up and train for the Race for the Cure 5K here in Lansing. I opted for the Couch to 5k […]
[…] Mid-Michigan Race for the Cure here in Lansing, and it was my first time running a 5K. I have been training for the past few months, and I’m happy to say all my hard work paid […]