A month or so ago, when I wrote a post about doing the Pursuit 5K, I told our fearless Boundless editor, Martha, “Well, I guess I’m committed now.” After about five years of not exercising regularly, I had decided to get my workout on, and I set the Pursuit 5K as my goal to motivate me. I also decided to try out a Couch to 5K (C25K) program to see if that might be a good method for easing myself back into fitness.
Martha figured having hundreds of readers watching my progress might be good accountability.
I am here to tell you, friends, that knowing you are (sort of, in a virtual way) watching is the only reason I’m still plugging away at this C25K thing. Seriously, this summer has been insane. My baby son started sleeping worse at night, instead of better. Two of my kids got sick. I started a new part-time job and picked up a decent-sized writing contract, both of which are posing a significant learning curve. My husband and I drove across the country with three children age 4 and under. (We have an amazing ability to turn a 12-hour day of driving into a 17-hour day!)
It has been hard to complete those run/walk workouts with any kind of regularity. So right now I have five weeks and one day of workouts left. But the Pursuit 5K is just under four weeks away — hence the title of this post.
However, aside from the fact that I am not very likely to complete the training program before the race, I think I might accomplish the end goal anyhow. The workouts I have done have been so good.
- Heart pumping? Check.
- Endorphin high? Check.
- German Shepherd who is ridiculously happy that he’s finally getting some exercise again? Check.
And to be honest, the training is not kicking my tail. I often feel I can run some of the intervals that are supposed to be for walking. When I walk, I feel ready to run again before the app tells me to. So I think if I keep going, I might be able to run the whole 3.1 miles, even if it’s a little bit of a leap from where I am in my training come Aug. 9. I am a little nervous that, since I’ve put myself out there, I will have a bit of an audience at the race, but hey, I’ve never been too self-conscious, so I’ll probably get over it.
When it comes to exercise and many other worthwhile pursuits, consistent effort and high-quality practice obviously produce the best results. But some things are worth investing in even if you can’t invest very consistently. I am definitely a better version of myself on the days I exercise, and I have hope that making my way sloooowwwwly through this C25K is moving me toward being even more consistent in the near future.
What about you? What imperfect efforts have still produced good fruit in your life?
And who’s going to be there at the starting line with me next month?
