I made up my mind yesterday that I was going to run outside. That is a huge deal in case you did not know. I have been on the treadmill for a while, staying safely inside where I won’t have to hobble home, or look like a complete loser next to the uber-athletes who run at Piedmont Park. But yesterday I set the active-oval in my sights. The active-oval is the .62 mile gravel track that circles the playing fields at Piedmont Park. I did the math and figured I needed to go around the thing 5 times to do a 5k.

“Wow!”, I thought. 5 times. I can do that. Maybe. It was cooler outside so maybe I would be ok. “God wouldn’t put anthing before me that I couldn’t do right?”, but maybe this was the same thought that assured so many who tired to climb Mount Everest and had their quest ending with them becoming popsicles that still adorn the mountain. I thought the best and the worst all along knowing that either way I was going to try. So I got home, changed clothes, and headed to the park.

I have walked the oval before but that was only walking. This time I had to run. I had to get my body used to the outside. If I could do 2.3 miles on the treadmill then I needed to reach that and surpass it outside. So I began to jog. And jog. It was way different than being inside. No air conditioning or four tvs in front of me. “

Why does my knee hurt? That’s new”, I thought to myself. I told myself that there was no way I was going to stop. If couldn’t do one lap I was a sad puppy.

I finished one lap and succomed to my aches and took to a fast walk. Why was I out of breath.?

Lap three was a fast walk as well. Half-way through lap four I knew I had to jog so I took to it again. Setting up little goals along the way.

“I will make it to that lamp post. I will make it to that bench. I will make it to that waterfountain.” My little goals helped take me into lap five jogging. I walked again briefly for water and to catch my breath. My knee eventually stopped aching and I finished the fith lap running down the homestretch.

By my calculations I ran a little over a mile. Which technically sucks. But technically it is a start. I walked home triumphant telling myself, “I’m going to make that oval my bitch!”

I am taking a quick vacation this weekend to San Diego. The second thing to get tossed into my suitcase this morning was my sneakers and running gear. I want to make new small goals on the westcoast.

Set goal, reach it, set another one.

How do you finish a 5k? One step at a time.