A Piece of Cake, er, Make That Pie.

May 22, 2010

A Piece of Cake, er, Make That Pie.

This past week, I decided I wanted to be a runner. Mind you, I have never successfully ran outdoors - I had always limited myself to the treadmill or elliptical. I like the feeling of knowing exactly how far I have gone, how long it has taken to get me there and how easy it was to form a habit from routine. On Tuesday, my neighbor, who I walk with Monday - Friday said she was unable to make it for our early morning 2-3 mile stroll. Something told me it was time to see what I could do on my own. Seeing my husband get up and run 5-6 miles almost everyday has always made me jealous, however, I have never had the desire to do the same, until now. Friday morning Kenny said he was signing up for Penny's Pieathlon. He was most excited because you got pie at the end. :) He opted for the 10k. This morning however, we woke up early to go and Kenny informed me it was a run to help benefit cancer institutions and patients. It made me think of my mom and one of the last conversations we had. Mom was already in a wheelchair and I had gone to visit her in Houston...

Tabbie: Mom, one day, I am going to run a marathon for you.
Mom: Yeah, right.
Tabbie & Mom: Laugh uncontrollably.

It was hilarious.

So I did it, I signed up for my very first 5k this morning at 7:45am.

While running, when I felt like I was pushing too hard, I let up a little, caught my breath and started back up. I ended the race with Gnarls Barkley's, Crazy and the entire experience felt beyond words. The best part was knowing I was running along side KP. When he finished I met him for a cool down mile and there were kisses, high-fives and five words I will never forget: I am proud of you.

Below are some photos after I completed my very first 5k and Kenny took on the 10k (although that still seemed very easy to the marathon runner). I realized that to be successful in this you must conquer the mental barrier, because once you do, the physical side seems to be a piece of cake (or shall I say pie!)