Sometime back the late 80s, I came to the recognition that I was not meant to be a runner.  I was on my high school’s varsity badminton team (yes, I have a varsity letter in badminton – now hush) and I dreaded when the coach would make us run around the school as warm up.  Everything about running was not fun and not at all for me.  Still earned my letter – despite my inability to keep up with my teammates during warm ups. My motto from those days on was “I only run if chased by bears.” I then chose to avoid living near bears altogether.

Fast forward about a gazillion years…..April 10, 2011….that morning my family and I left our house at the crack of dawn so that we could get to my first 5K race in Clearwater, FL. I not only had the courage to sign up and get there AND run it – but I also finished it in a respectable 36 min 27 sec. Respectable because I had just started running about 7 weeks before. And not a bear in sight…

How did I get there?  To the finish line – that’s easy.  Lots of sweat, good music on the ipod, one Gatorade stop, and faith.  How did I get to be a runner…..well that’s for the next few posts.

Meantime – I’ve signed up to run the Disney Half Marathon in Orlando on January 7, 2012. Let’s see how easily I get to there….