run. believe.

a week ago i was in a bad place. it was the morning after my pizza and cupcake binge. i felt so humiliated, defeated. then a package arrived from my friend katelyn. when i got to work i carefully removed all of the beautiful wrapping, and inside i found this amazing handmade necklace with medallions that say "run. believe." katelyn is who inspired me to try C25K in the first place a year ago. she believes in me. and this birthday gift came on the PERFECT day. i was going to wear it that night when i ran, but i was in the midst of my cold, so i didn't run. i decided instead to save it for the 5k on thanksgiving day.

as you know, i've been training hard, but i've felt like i started too late to be very impressive in the 5k. then last night i failed when i tried to run. i ended up at old navy instead of accomplishing anything worthwhile at the gym. but tonight....tonight was different.

the first 10 minutes were awful. then somehow i got it in my head that i only had 10 more minutes to go to 25. then at some point i realized i actually had 15. argh. but i made it through 10. then 20. then 30. and i kept going, and i kept going. when i hit 2.75 miles i thought "just make it to 3 miles. prove you can do it." and when i got to 3, i kept going to 3.10. i ran for 39 minutes without any walking....3.1 miles. a 5k. and within 5 minutes after finishing, my heart rate was in a good place, i didn't feel pukey, nothing on my body hurt--and it still doesn't.

katelyn believed in me, and it renewed my belief in myself. and tonight i used that belief to run and run and keep on running. a week ago sally told me she thought i could run the whole 5k and i said NO WAY. i told her i could only barely run 2 miles, there was no way i could add a mile in a week. i'm sorry, sally!

i still doubt i can run the entire 5k on thursday. only because i have been training indoors on a treadmill with no incline, and there's a decent hill on the 5k route, and i also won't be able to really monitor my speed. but i know i can run for a lot longer than i could last year at this time.

so now i'm pumped. bring it on, turkey trot! i'll be wearing my necklace, i'll be running, and i'll be believing.