Saturday, January 14, 2012

A New Crew, Inspiring for Me! Moms Running

About a month ago I posted my "check-in" at the White Rock Half on my Facebook page.  My mom, and a few other family members, like to keep up with my races, and it makes it easy to log events that way.  One of my sweet friends commented "I've always wanted to become a runner" to which I thought, "Then let's get you there!" 

Being that I was, once upon a time, a professional couch sitter who always wanted to run, I am always inspired by others with a similar aspiration.  Often times people are overwhelmed with the idea of becoming a runner.  It seems like such hard work.  It seems like a title that only women, along the likes of Paula (Radcliffe) and Kara (Goucher) are worthy of.  But the reality is that we are all capable of becoming a runner.  Sure, it takes a little bit of work, but it is so do-able.  If I can become a runner...anyone can.  That's a sentiment I sincerely mean.

Another friend of mine was, once upon a time, a voracious runner, who had completed a few half marathons.  Life, kids, and an injury got in her way, and so her running shoes were retired.  But she'd been wanting to get back.  And so, with these two women, and another friend, all motivated to accomplish something awesome, we began our little Couch 2 5K Crew. 

I am beyond proud to say that they finished their first week today.  The weather, on Wednesday and Thursday was unforgiving.  It was cold and windy.  Yet, they showed up, at my doorstep, ready and eager to run.  Instead of snoozing in on a Saturday morning, or noshing on donuts while watching the cartoons, they were ringing my doorbell at 9 am.  Getting the first step out the door really is the hardest part, and they did it.  And they did an amazing job, too. 

The Couch 2 5K program is so amazing, I really can't say enough good things about it.  It really does work for nonrunners.  But even better, for me, I am quite certain that by doing it, in conjunction with regular training, it will help me get faster.  What's great about c25k is that it's not overwhelming. 

I'm feeling so motivated and inspired by our little running group.  It's exciting for me to think about us finishing our first 5k together, as a team, in just 5-6 more weeks.  Hopefully they'll get addicted and we'll be able to tackle bigger events together, like a 10k, and maybe even a half, at some point!