Hi. (Again.)
It's been two years, two months and 21 days since I last ran an actual run. Sure, I've had two or three starts and stops here and there, but those were just blips. I'd like to tell you all that I had this great injury and I've been working hard day in and day out getting myself back into running condition, but that's a big fat lie.
Truth be told, I let my anxiety win there for a bit. Did I ever tell you all out there that I have anxiety? Probably, but if you are just now joining this here party, well, Hi. I'm Lisa and I have anxiety. It's gotten worse as I've gotten older and then it got really bad when my family and I moved 1,600 miles north of our home state, but it's getting better. A lot better.
One of the casualties of my anxiety was my running. I just stopped. I had prepared before the Big Move by attending a beginner's running class through one of the local running stores in Dallas. I had built myself back up to running two miles comfortably in preparation of moving to our new neighborhood, which through all my research was deemed an "excellent walking/running neighborhood". The websites didn't lie. I saw (and still see) people out walking and running everyday all over our little section of streets-- but it didn't matter. In my head they were all unfamiliar streets with the potential to get lost and or attacked by some nefarious Other Person.
My brain can be a weird place sometimes. Logically, I knew that the chances of either of those things happening were slim-to-none, but that's the crappy thing about anxiety-- it lies to you. Convinces you that this one thing could very well happen and you know what, it will happen. DON'T DO THIS THING.
So, I didn't do the thing, aka running. The worst part is knowing that my anxiety and stress levels would have probably been lessened had I used running as an outlet, but it is what it is. I can't change these past two years, but I can change my course now-- and we are-- as a family. The kids have expressed an interest in learning to run long distances and entering 5Ks and I am HERE FOR IT.
J and I decided the easiest thing to do would be to get the kids on a Couch to 5K program, having both had success using those programs in the past. During our planning we both realized, DUH, we ALL could do this together and BOOM, it was done. The last two weeks we've been going out each night for 30 minutes walks in an effort to introduce the kids to moving for that long. This week the real fun starts. Week 1, Day 1 is tomorrow. The kids are excited and y'all, I'M excited.
I'm nervous too. I don't know what to expect with adding the kids to the mix, but I'm willing to try. I hope to document our progress on here. Not sure how it will all work out in terms of posts-- after every run? Or maybe just a weekly progress report? Either way, I hope you will join us on this journey.
Here's to the next nine weeks!
Truth be told, I let my anxiety win there for a bit. Did I ever tell you all out there that I have anxiety? Probably, but if you are just now joining this here party, well, Hi. I'm Lisa and I have anxiety. It's gotten worse as I've gotten older and then it got really bad when my family and I moved 1,600 miles north of our home state, but it's getting better. A lot better.
One of the casualties of my anxiety was my running. I just stopped. I had prepared before the Big Move by attending a beginner's running class through one of the local running stores in Dallas. I had built myself back up to running two miles comfortably in preparation of moving to our new neighborhood, which through all my research was deemed an "excellent walking/running neighborhood". The websites didn't lie. I saw (and still see) people out walking and running everyday all over our little section of streets-- but it didn't matter. In my head they were all unfamiliar streets with the potential to get lost and or attacked by some nefarious Other Person.
My brain can be a weird place sometimes. Logically, I knew that the chances of either of those things happening were slim-to-none, but that's the crappy thing about anxiety-- it lies to you. Convinces you that this one thing could very well happen and you know what, it will happen. DON'T DO THIS THING.
So, I didn't do the thing, aka running. The worst part is knowing that my anxiety and stress levels would have probably been lessened had I used running as an outlet, but it is what it is. I can't change these past two years, but I can change my course now-- and we are-- as a family. The kids have expressed an interest in learning to run long distances and entering 5Ks and I am HERE FOR IT.
J and I decided the easiest thing to do would be to get the kids on a Couch to 5K program, having both had success using those programs in the past. During our planning we both realized, DUH, we ALL could do this together and BOOM, it was done. The last two weeks we've been going out each night for 30 minutes walks in an effort to introduce the kids to moving for that long. This week the real fun starts. Week 1, Day 1 is tomorrow. The kids are excited and y'all, I'M excited.
I'm nervous too. I don't know what to expect with adding the kids to the mix, but I'm willing to try. I hope to document our progress on here. Not sure how it will all work out in terms of posts-- after every run? Or maybe just a weekly progress report? Either way, I hope you will join us on this journey.
Here's to the next nine weeks!
This is awesome! Maizy and I have been talking about training together. This was just the motivation we needed. You are awesome!
ReplyDeleteThis is awesome! Maizy and I have been talking about training together. This was just the motivation we needed. You are awesome!
ReplyDeleteRunning is an amazing thing and brings families even closer together!! You guys are going to have a blast, I just know it. Can't wait to hear all about it.
ReplyDelete