Personal Victory

I have been smoke free since Christmas Eve 2007 (about three weeks) and I have discovered that I really like running.  My lungs feel like they are on fire when I go too far, and my legs burn a bit if I ever manage to outpace my lungs, but I feel like a difference in my life is finally showing itself.  Improvements in fitness are hard, as I can now see, but they seem to open the door for other opportunities.

Today I ran 3.5 tenths of a mile.  That sounds like not a lot to those of you who have a set of lungs, I am sure, but to a 270 lb guy who has never run more than a mile, and not more than a block in the last 14 years, I think that it is a victory in itself, and the start to larger victories to come.  My friend that I run with wants to run a 10k race (6.2 miles) that happens every year in my city.  I have always heard about it and even been inwardly jealous of some people that I know that are in it every year, and I finally have a chance.

Going from 3.5 tenths of one mile to running 6.2 in two months is probably not feasible, but I will be able to run at least half of it and walk the rest by the time the race comes.  That is my goal, and I believe that I can make it.  Chantix…I owe you.

~ by fredwbaker on January 14, 2008.