I should explain...

While I still feel really strange saying "I'm writing a blog," I think I should explain the birth of said blog.
As I said in my "About Me" section, I have never been particularly athletic. I enjoyed the leisurely hike or bike ride, but nothing too strenuous. Team sports, nope. Running, definitely not.
As I got older, I chalked a lot of this reluctance up to my breathing problems I had when I did attempt something vigorous. For those who have never ran or biked with me, I sound like some sort of animal wheezing its way toward death! So, as the inevitable 20-something pounds began to find their way onto my body, I thought I should become more active. Because of the ridiculous, and at times, scary, panting, I figured I should stick with walking, hiking, and easy bike rides.
Enter my friend, Amanda. Amanda is one of those tall girls who make running look like a piece of cake. She's not like the crazy runner types in all kinds of spandex and sports bras and fancy heart monitors. She keeps it simple, in sweatpants and a cotton T-shirt, which I love! I was always vaguely envious of the Saturday morning races she ran in every week (while I was probably still in bed). I say "vaguely" because I'm the kind of person who enjoys the "idea" of great things like running or learning to knit (random, I know, but I just had this knitting conversation last night). However, I usually don't really like doing the actual work that goes into that great idea! It's easier to be jealous of people enjoying themselves, than to actually try something new...isn't that human nature though?
Amanda suddenly decided that she thought I could run. I laughed. A lot. Me, run? I can barely breathe walking up a big hill! After a lot of persuading on her part, she convinced me to start running with her. During the persuasion process, I had googled "new runners"and found a program called the Couch to 5K. It is a slow progression that gets you running a few minutes at a time, until you are able to run a 5K. I thought that sounded right for me.
Amanda had another idea. On our first run, she told me we were going to run 20 minutes straight. I don't know what was more surprising, Amanda thinking I could actually run for 20 minutes without walking (HA!) or the fact that I actually did it!! We kept running together, sometimes with her searching for the worst hills in the flattest of areas. I screamed hateful things at her (in my head they were screams, in real life they were gasps of protest). She pointed at the ground next to her and yelled "Get up here" while I trailed a half a block behind her. She told me to make myself small on hills. She tried to make small talk when I just wanted to die, in an attempt to take my mind off of the horrible, horrible experience of running.This does not sound pleasant. It wasn't, most of the time! But, Amanda made it easier!Before long, it was time for my first 5K. Agghh!!!

(You can barely see me in this picture, but it's the only one I have of my first 5K.)