Kept going (w/pics)

8/27/12 I took a leap of faith and started C25k. I could barely do the required 60 seconds of jogging alternating with 90 seconds of walking which is the first week's assignment. I sucked wind and gasped for breath, but I did it and kept going. I remember those early days looking desperately at the timer praying for the run segments to finish. Heart racing, out of breath and trying desperately to hang in there. I kept going.

My shin splints were off the chart painful and my knees hurt. Plantar fasciatis threatened to side line me. I bought new running shoes that had a little more arch support and kept going. Shins still were a major issue with shooting pain at every step, I embraced the pain but knew I needed to find a solution. I researched, asked for help from MFP members and finally came across www.goodformrunning.com. I watched the videos on their site over and over and studied the diagrams as if I was studying for a final exam. I made some adjustments to my form and stride and within a week, the shin splints were gone!
About this time I hurt myself on the treadmill because the belt was loose and I was in pain for about 2 weeks. Disappointed, but not derailed, I took off a week and walked or used elliptical instead and kept going.

I came across a womens running group on CNN called Black Girls Run who was hosting a run in Atlanta and found out they had members in Orlando (over 55,000 members nationwide!!), I immediately joined and took my training to the pavement. I was very scared about going to the pavement because of the impact and my weight. I certainly did not want to hurt myself, but you can't run a 5k on a treadmill!! I was DEFINITELY intimidated because the group's name says "RUN" and I certainly did not think of myself as someone who could run, but every woman I met in the group was encouraging, welcoming and soooo supportive!! All ages, all sizes, all ethnic races, all levels. Some walk, some jog, some wog (walk & jog) some run , some run alot. There was a place for everyone, including me.

Here is a recent facebook post from one of our BGR Ambassadors: Attention to ALL the women around who want to be fit but don't want to do it alone, here's a message from the ambassadors of the BGR! Orlando group: "Ladies, if you are not joining us because we are Black Girls RUN!, please do NOT be intimidated...we are here to help get you to where YOU want to go. We walk, we jog, we wog..we do what we CAN! There are runs all over the city, plan on going to one. If there's not one near you, PLAN one...Michelle and I (Leslie) can help get you started! Let's keep this MOVEment going!!!!" www.BlackGirlsRUN.com <---there's the link if you're interested!! ♥ I hope to see all of you on the pavement and "preserving your sexy!"

I completed C25k on November 16th and had completed 2 5k's before my "graduation" When I was early into C25k, I certainly did not think I would EVER be able to run a whole 5k without stopping. Now, in all I have done 3 and not only know its possible but that the sky is the limit! I am still quite far from my weight loss goals. I am down a total of 50 pounds and 3 pounds away from my half-way mark, but I now have the belief that as long as I keep moving forward, I WILL eventually get there. My goal is lose the last 50 before June 2012 or sooner. However my focus has shifted from exercising to lose weight, to losing weight so I can enjoy exercising and running more easily.

Yesterday was my first "Big" race with over 4000 participants and I will tell you that being there with 30 other BGR women cheering for each other and waiting for the last one to cross the finish line was an amazing experience!!

Was the race easy? No. Did I want to stop running at any point of the race course? Yes. Did I stop? No. I KEPT GOING! Do I love running? No, not yet. But I suspect one day I will, especially as the weight comes off.
I can do this, ....actually I AM doing this....and I AM going to keep going.

~Making it happen
Wendy

Now for pics: