Running Down a Dream

I had a miscarriage in April. The day before my birthday. It was really, really awful, but I'm okay now.

Part of getting to "okay now" for me was getting back to the gym. I used to work out somewhat sporadically, then really regularly, then sporadically again, and then not at all. Lather, rinse, repeat. As a chubby teenager I took up jogging and long walks to help trim down, then went off to college and promptly cut that crap out because I was too busy losing my mind.

Last October I "ran" my first 5k, which is to say I walked most of it and the 70-something guy who started out behind me finished in front of me by quite a lot. The moms with their jogging strollers pretty much kicked my butt, too, since we're being honest here. But the experience, over all, was pretty awesome. The energy was intense, everyone was having a good time (I know, right? Sweating, gasping for air, and still having fun. I wouldn't have believed it either if I wasn't there.)

So when it came time to mentally recover from everything, I went back to the gym. It felt good -- the energy there, the endorphins. Endorphins are some addictive stuff, y'all. Their street value would be huge if it didn't require exercise to get them. (Actually, I know exactly what the street value is -- $19.99 a month. Yay for Gold's Gym!) <-- a="" endorsement.="" not="" p="" paid="">
Anyway, for the last month or so I have been doing a treadmill 5k three times a week, and doing some light cardio and weights the other two days. (Yes, I go to the gym 5 days a week. I'd hate me too if I didn't know how much I weigh and how incredibly out of shape I still am. It's a necessity, people. Trust me.)

All of which is leading up to, I hope, running in 2 different 5k's this year. The first one is a local run in October. The second one is THIS little piece of awesome -- the Hot Chocolate 15k. Because an event that includes both running AND Ghirardelli chocolate is pretty much my current idea of Nirvana.

I am nothing if not a walking contradiction, people.