A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The.....

OK, so the weirdest thing happened to me today.

A few months ago, my two hateful evil friends asked me to run the Gasparilla 5K with them. They are both cute and skinny and I'm sure I'll be the comic relief, but I'm game for anything Pirate-related, so I responded with a resounding "maybe!"

Then I had the flu the first week in January. Not the best way to start a training routine.

After recovering, I started this training program that several people I know have used. It's called the "Couch to 5K" plan, and there are several versions of it on the internet. I downloaded a podcast from a dude named Robert Ullrey, and started it mid-January. It's supposed to get you running a 5K in 8 weeks.

First off, I only had 6 weeks. But OK.

It starts off innocently enough. You run for a minute and then walk for 2 minutes, or something like that, for a half an hour 3 times the first week. Week 2 increases to run for 2 minutes, walk for 90 seconds. Week three increases a little more. Then Week 4 hits. All the sudden, he wants you to run for 3 minutes, walk for 90 seconds, then run for 5 minutes, walk for three minutes. And then do it again. You go from a total of 8-9 minutes of running time to a staggering 16 minutes. It sucked.

I actually failed the first time. Couldn't do it. I began to fantasize about Mr. Ullrey, and not in a good way. On his podcast, he says "I'm a 43 year old Southern Californian who decided to start running again on my birthday." I have conjured up this whole life for Mr. Ullrey. I picture him as a cross between Bruce Jenner and the dude that played Cameron in "Ferris Bueller's Day Off." He lives in a post-modern style ranch home in Southern California. He drinks fresh orange juice everyday, and rides his bike to his graphic designer job.

I created this whole fantasy so that I could then fantasize about running him and his bike over with my car. Repeatedly.

Then this week - WEEK 5 - we entered a whole new level of Hell. Day 1: Run three 5 minute intervals, with 3 minute walks in between. Amazingly, even after a weekend of Drinking Around the World at EPCOT, I managed to do it.

Day 2: It got worse. Two 8 minute intervals with a 5 minute walk in between. (That's running for 8 straight minutes with no break, two times.) Miraculously, I did it.

Day 3: (That's today) 20 minutes of straight running. No walking. No breaks. No way. I was sick yesterday, and I have blisters on my feet from wearing heels to the Science Fair Awards 2 nights ago. But I put on my shoes and headed out anyway.

And this is where the funny thing happened. I freakin did it. And it was even almost not painful. I looked down at my watch and had actually run 45 seconds past my turnaround time without even realizing it (yay to my buddies Usher and Taio Cruz.) And I ran for an extra minute and a half, just to compensate for the fact that I had to stop twice and wait on traffic to cross the road. But I did it!

The one mystery through all this has been: even though I run more of the time each week, I never seem to go any farther. It's always between 1.8 and 2.2 miles. Today I hit 2.5. I figure if I can survive 2.5, I can probably run the 3 necessary for a 5K race.

Something clicked with my body this week. It's like suddenly it went "Oh - so THIS is what you want me to do?" Don't get me wrong. It's not fun. It's not easy. But it is survivable.

So I registered for the race. I still have 8 days - time to get through 1 more week of training. It won't get me all the way, and I won't be running fast. But I think just maybe I might survive it without throwing up or passing out.

I think today I will let poor Mr. Ullrey ride his bike to work in peace.