running

This weekend has been full of running.

On Saturday, I ran my very first 5K.  It was a pretty big accomplishment for me.  I am NOT a runner, and I have never been.  When we used to do those presidential fitness tests in elementary school, I dreaded having to run the mile.  I was always one of the last kids to finish.  In high school, I took a summer gym class in which we ran 2 1/2 miles everyday.  It was miserable.  At the end of the summer, we had to run a timed mile.  The gym teacher said that we needed to run the mile in less than 10 minutes in order to get an A in the class.  I ran it in 9 minutes and 58 seconds.  It was my fastest mile ever, and barely enough to get me the A.

Since I've been at dental school, I've been trying to stay active by tagging along with my friends when they go to the gym.  After getting bored with every other machine, I finally caved in and began running on the treadmill; it was something I vowed I would never do.  After giving it a go for several weeks and even accompanying my friends on a jog around the neighborhood, I made a realization.  I still hate running.  I am pretty sure that my body is not designed to do it.

So by this point, you may wonder why in the world I signed up to run a 5K, which is not one, not two, but 3.1 miles long.  There is a program called Girls on the Run that is an after-school program that promotes healthy living and self-respect in pre-teen girls through a training to run.  At the end of the program, the girls complete a 5K with the help of a running buddy that tags along with them for the whole race.  My friend Vicki is a teacher at a school that participates in the program, and she encouraged me to sign up as a running buddy for one of her students.

Considering that I hate running, I did not train, I got little sleep the night before, and I had to get up at 6AM on a Saturday to make it out to Tempe on time, I fully expected to be miserable.  Turns out, I actually had a lot of fun.  The race wasn't timed and we ran at the pace set by the students.  However, my buddy and I finished the race in about 44 minutes.  It was simply adorable how proud my buddy was about finishing the race.  You could just see the happiness all over her face.

Starting the race...we're all looking pretty happy.

Crossing the finish line...such determination!

I figured that volunteering for this event would make me feel happy about the accomplishment of my running buddy.  I did not expect to feel proud of myself.  I actually enjoyed a running event.  I think I may have been bitten by the running bug.  I am seriously considering running a short triathlon or another 5K.  Because I ran at the pace of my running buddy, we finished at a slower time.  It would be interesting to see what would happen if I ran a race at my own pace.  Would I have fun?  Would I feel accomplished?  I think so!

my running buddies

Today, I spent a fair amount of time running errands and running around my apartment.  Several of my friends moved this weekend, and I think I am a teensy bit jealous of their new spaces.  Moving to a new place provides the opportunity to be organized and be clean and be new.  I think I needed a little bit of that in my life.  So, to make my space feel a little newer and cleaner, I organized my closet, packed away clothes I haven't worn in while, cleaned the extra junk out of my desk, re-organized my filing system, re-organized my bookshelf, and cleaned out my junk drawer.  It feels pretty good.  I thought about re-arranging the furniture in my room too, but decided against it.  There is a possibility that I may move into my roommate's old room when she moves out in 6 weeks.  I don't really think moving my furniture twice would be necessary.

Despite having an enjoyable and productive weekend, I am feeling a little bad that I didn't make any time for studying this weekend.  That means this week and coming weekend will be icky...finals are just around the corner.