surprise myself

not even a month after treatment, i decided to run an 8k trail run...not the best decision i have ever made. i think my time was 1 hour and 45 minutes or maybe even 2 hours.  i had a large team of supporters and a sister who stayed with me the whole way.  looking back i can not believe i did this.  i was fresh out of treatment and wanted to prove cancer had not taken over my life...that i had control.  this was day 1 of learning i need to slow down, listen to my body and don't over do.

since my cancer treatment ended, i have a desire to be healthier and push myself to do things i would {probably} not have done before.  i have had a desire to run a 1/2 marathon, complete a long distance bike race from the {nc} mountains to the coast and participate in a triathlon sprint.  i have learned that i am a lot slower than i used to be.  that is not an excuse.  i have learned to pace myself.  it is ok to be slow.  over time, i have improved greatly and by listening to my body, i have actually not gotten frustrated and have stuck with it.  this was in the spring of 2010...later that year, i took a running class.  i was able to get up to 3 miles through the class and actually completed a few 5k's with my sister in 2011.  i was on track to cross off the 1/2 marathon.  but then plans changed.

i never had the intention of climbing mt kilimanjaro, that was a suggestion made by a friend.  but i am beyond glad i did it and i am forever changed by it.  after climbing, i took a few months off from exercising all together.  knowing i needed and wanted to get back into my track of completing my 1/2 marathon, i slowly started back up in the spring of 2012.  i hate running or exercising {period} when it is hot outside, so i took the summer off.  i started back up again with one goal in mind...run the diva 1/2 marathon in april 2013.

so i started back up slow again.  this time i alternate my running with a cross fit type of class {fight gone mad}.  it is unbelievable how much this has improved my endurance.

i ran a race in winston-salem recently in support of a friend and fellow survivor {katie} and was so surprised at how well i did.  i hadn't yet trained back up to 3 miles.  that day, i not only ran 3 miles, but did so in my best time yet.  here is a picture of katie and i.

next up {race to end women's cancer} in dc....an 8k....that is 5 miles.