Hey, remember when I lived in Houston and I was training for a marathon? I decided one day that I would start running so I stepped out the door and did two miles in fifteen minutes. Tonight was very different.
This is not a New Year’s resolution. If I call it that I will be done by the middle of next week. I have my eyes set on three 5Ks this spring. One each in March, April, and May. Easy. I have until March to make myself respectable. So, I am running again.
I want to finish a 5K in 21 minutes. I want to run a 10K next fall. I want to eventually run in one marathon. Maybe in a city like Seattle or Portland. After that, I want to run half-marathons in other cool cities like Phoenix or Nashville. I want to have an unlimited supply of race t-shirts. This time around I am setting some goals along the way. If I have something specific to prepare for, I will do much better. First step 5K.
Actually, first step was buying the shoes. I bought a new pair of running shoes this afternoon. Helpy Helperton sold them to me at a running store in Folsom. The shoes are nice. Very light. Very comfortable. Helpy asked me what my goals were as I was trying on my shoes. I told him the plan was to start with a few 5Ks and end up with one marathon under my belt. He tried to encourage me by telling me I would be there before I knew it. Maybe he doesn’t realize how much I like Lucky Charms.
As I finished my short run/walk tonight, I put my hands on top of my head and tried to catch my breath. I looked up at the sky and remembered similar nights in Texas. For a split second, I forgot the past three and a half years. I felt like I was finishing one of my six mile runs in Kingwood. It felt good, in a painful sort of way. It felt familiar. I remembered why I started running back then. I remembered how much I liked it.
Tonight was a baby step. It was tough, but it was fun. When Helpy was encouraging me about the marathon this afternoon, he asked, “How do you eat an elephant?” I laughed. And then tonight I took my first bite.
