BIG Announcement

Willow and I have some pretty big news.
Oh yea, I guess Robbie and Roxy are involved in this too.
It's kind of exciting and terrifying all at the same time.
Announcements like this are life changing.
And oh so hard to keep secret.
I've been wanting to SCREAM this from the rooftop for the past few weeks,
but you know, sometimes you have to keep things like this hush, hush for a while.
Just to be safe. 
But now that everything's official, I am finally in the clear to let you all in on my big secret....

I'm a runner. 

(Oh wait, you thought I was going to say I was preggers. No such luck. Sorry bout it. Though it would have made for one jaw-dropping April Fool's joke!)

Okay, sike I'm not really a runner either. But I did run a race. And I did a damn good job at it. And, here's the clincher, I actually kind of liked it. I didn't feel like I was going to die at the end and I was excited at the thought of doing another, not right away obviously. But down the road for sure (pun totally intended).

This past weekend I ran in the 5K Great Glow Run with a group of girls from school. I've mentioned a few times that Willow and I have started running. Mainly because I've been desperate for some Vitamin D after what felt like the longest, coldest, dreariest winter of my life. What better way to enjoy the sunshine then a brisk run around the neighborhood? (Actually, that's kind of a dumb question. Having a cold beer on the back porch is always a better way to enjoy the sunshine. But it's also a great way to have a school day hangover, which is no beuno, and an extra 200 calories sitting on your gut, which again is mucho no beuno.) 

Plus Willow and I tend to have two modes: asleep on the couch or moving 100 miles a minute. There is no in between for us. Running gives me a way to still be moving while also giving my brain some disconnected, down-time too, which I need. I think Willow's just in it for the squirrels and leaves...she loves a good chase. But either way, it's been our go-to activity lately.

I don't have a FitBit. I don't Map My Walk. Heck, I don't even check the clock before I leave. I just harness her up and go. And dare I say it, it's become kind of enjoyable. 

Then Saturday night rolls around and I find myself running a 5Kin a neon tutu (sans Willow) and actually really enjoying it. 

We signed up for the race a few months ago. At the time it seemed like a good excuse to wear neon paint and go out for beers downtown afterward. Plus I wasn't really intimidated by the distance. Mainly because I knew I could walk if I needed too. 

But as the date got closer and closer, I realized I really wanted to run the whole thing. No stopping. And ideally I wanted to run it in 30 mins. A ten minute mile sounded pretty impressive. And the last time I "ran" a 5K was for my freshman PE class (it was hell) and I did that in a little over 31 minutes so it seemed like an attainable goal. 

My official time was 29:57 which totally counts as under my mark and a personal best. And as I crossed the finished line in the dark and realized I had in fact reached my goal and not gotten lost in the streets of downtown (something I, with my non-existant sense of direction, was genuinely afraid of) I was reminded how rewarding it is to set a goal and reach it. 

All my life I've set goals. And all my life I've reached them. The blessing of that is not lost on me. Sure, I put in the hard work. But I know that I had other supporting factors by my side as well. Ever since I finished my first year of teaching, I haven't really set any personal, tangible goals for myself. Something I wanted to set out and accomplish. 

I had graduated college, I had saved money for a house, I had gotten a teaching job, I had survived year one in that teaching job (with most of my sanity still in tact). But after that, I had kind of gotten into a comfortable rut in my life. I'm not complaining. I love my little life and the things Robbie and I have accomplished for ourselves. We have future plans and dreams that I know we'll reach in time too. But the journey to those things is going to be equally, if not more enjoyable, than the actual outcome. 

Crossing that finish line reminded me how fun it is to actually challenge myself. I know, I know....to some of you running divas, a 5K happens in your sleep. And I get that. I'm not saying what I did was the end all be all. But just the fact that I did it. That I followed through with something I told myself I would do. It's a good feeling. 

With ALL that rambling being said, the #1800MinuteChallenge starts today. 

1800 minutes of activity between now and May 31. It's totally doable and a bunch of fun bloggy gals are doing it too so you don't have to be all alone. I'm pretty excited. Who knows, I could become one of those fitness gurus who posts meals and smoothie recipes and 16 sec. exercise videos on my Instagram every hour on the hour. 

Ha JK - now that's an April Fool's joke if I ever heard one.