After my loss in May I had a semi-long recovery. June is sort of a blur and I don't remember feeling like I was back to myself until early July. In any case, the best thing I did for myself this summer was start the couch to 5 K running program. Getting back into running was brutal at first, but with each workout I started to really love it.
Matt and I trained together at the local HS track every other day. It was awesome, Matt would push Lily in the stroller while we both got in a great workout. Lily really liked it, at first, but as the workouts got longer and longer her tolerance for going round and round in a circle diminished somewhat. She was most fond of the stretching portion of the workout during which she was allowed out of the stroller to run free on the long jump track and the soccer field.
The program is 9 weeks long and I started the first week of July. I had planned on signing up for a 5K mid September. Those plans changed when we went to Maine for a week and I was informed that a "fun run" I thought I was walking was in fact a race that my friends and I were running. I did a few longish runs during the week to prepare...but I was so (pee my pants) nervous. Seriously, the race was all we talked about for days!
The race was part of our hometown's "Summerfest" activities. It was actually really cute because both my mom and dad came, as well as Matt's dad (sadly Matt's mom had to work) to cheer us on. The race was delayed for almost 45 minutes due to POURING rain, thunder and oh yeah....lightning. The longer we stood around the more nervous I became. When we finally got word that is was go time our little group made our way to the back of the pack. This bears mentioning because we started 30 seconds behind everyone else and just couldn't seem to catch up...even though we could see people walking ahead of us. In any case a friend of ours who runs 1/2 marathons was kind enough to run with us and call out our splits whenever I requested (every 1/2 mile, ha). We rounded the corner just before the 1 mile mark and there was my dad, holding Lily and cheering wildly. It was a great moment that I want to remember forever. 
We ran and then we ran some more. I was tired and the last mile of the race started with a brutal uphill climb. I powered my way up the hill, the whole time thinking, "this is it after, this it is all downhill." We made it to the top and as we started to close out the race I realized there was one more hill, and it literally broke me. For a brief second I thought I might get sick to my stomach and I slowed down and urged the girls to go on without me. And then it happened. I walked three, sad, sorry steps. As soon as I stopped running I started again but the damage had been done. I finished the race with an unofficial time 33:37 which I thought was pretty darn good for my first race in 10 years. The best part was crossing the finish line to my cheering fan club!
So all that being said, I am not ready to check it off the list...not until I can do a race without those three sad steps. Next year I am recruiting, consider yourself warned Kate! I'll keep you posted!
