If someone had told me 14 months ago at the beginning of this journey that I would be walking a 5K let alone running one, I would have told them they were crazy. Walking was the last thing I ever thought I would be doing! After all, I had found my exercise and it was biking. My aversion to walking was so great that I would get irritated every time I watched The Biggest Loser and contestants would turn into runners.
Part of the reason I disliked it so much was the fear that it generated. I would ride my bike anywhere, but absolutely refused to walk around the block with my friends. I was terrified that I would get halfway from our starting point and not be able to make it back. Then one day after I had started loosing a few pounds, I did something crazy. I decided to try to walk at lunch with two other coworkers who walked for 30 minutes every day. I had worked out some escape routes in my head so that I could take some short cuts and make it back to the office if I started to feel like I couldn’t make it the whole way. No one was more shocked then I was when I made the 1.5 mile walk without a problem.
The next thing I knew, I was walking every day at lunch and would get frustrated if I had to miss my walk. When my exercise had to move inside to the gym over the winter months I started walking on the treadmill and before I knew what hit me, ever so slowly I would start to jog. Then one crazy night to keep myself motivated, I asked a friend if she wanted to sign up for a 5k. I didn’t think, I just jumped and signed up.
Fast forward to August 10th. I just completed my 3rd 5K since April and I’m ready to go again. This 5K was a blast! I ran the “Run or Dye – Toledo” 5k. This one isn’t timed and is a whole lot of fun for the whole family, it’s made just to get you active. Over the course of the run there are four dye stations which you run through and volunteers blast you with color. Just in case that wasn’t enough color for you, there’s a party stage where all the participants throw dye in the air at the count of 10 – of course they have some great music going to pump up the fun. I would highly recommend this to anyone looking to be active and have blast at the same time.
Don’t forget you are never too old to try something new. Although it can be difficult, face your fears and you might actually find a fun time.
Doesn’t this look like someone who had fun exercising?
