The things we can accomplish

I have never considered myself a "runner".  In fact, in high school I played softball for the specific purpose of getting out of PE where they made everyone run a mile every couple of months.  I thought my sister was crazy 2 years ago when she accepted a challenge to run the LA Marathon.  I mean, only crazy people do that, right?
I even gave it a "go" when Kevin was about 6 months old and everyone around me was convincing me that running was a good exercise to do to lose the baby weight.  I ran for about 2 weeks and quit.

Fast forward to beginning of this year, a friend and neighbor of mine was telling me about a program she used to get into running.  She had a smartphone and ran the Couch to 5k app.  I nodded approvingly, but went home thinking "she's crazy".  Then in March, I got my own smartphone and was downloading cool apps when I thought "might as well see what this is about" and downloaded the app.

Around the same time I attended a meeting for the local schools and they mentioned a 5k fundraiser they do every year and my friend mentioned she was going to run it.  A few nights later, and I can't remember why, but I thought I'd just try out this app and see what it's all about.  I came home feeling accomplished, invigorated, and ready for the next challenge!

6 weeks later, I ran my first 5k - the Race for Success.  I was so nervous the morning of the race, but ended up finishing in 36:05 and my husband and kids even came to cheer me on!

3 months later (see picture to left) on August 20, I ran my second 5k - the Jet to Jetty Run/Walk for Health.  And I beat my previous time by 90 seconds!  With  my sister Ilene (to the right of me in picture), we ran it in 34:35.

It's really amazing what you can do if you put your mind to it!