The Big 2.0

Today's blog post is dedicated to my first ever, without stopping, red faced, huffing and puffing, two mile run! That's right y'all--after two months of jogging twice a week I finally made it two miles. Prior to this run the longest I had made it was 1.8 with one break. (Helen says that stopping for 40 seconds doesn't even count as a stop and that I didn't need to tell people about that, but it was still failure in my eyes. #superselfcriticalprobs) Of course I have been content doing any exercise because hey--it's more than I would be doing sitting on the couch, right?! But I REALLY I wanted to get to two miles because I REALLY want to run a 5K. When we started this I could barely make it one mile, and it took me 12 and a half minutes.

But after several weeks I got to where I could make it to about 1.5 miles until I was convinced my lungs were no longer functioning and I would pass out at any moment. Helen was getting ready for a 5K mud run right before Easter so she got all bad ass on me and texted me one day declaring she had made it past 2 miles at some ridiculously fast pace like 10:20. So now crazy competitive Lizzie took over. I momentarily had a split personality where I was super proud of her and excited for her, but also angry because I hadn't done that. Yet.

Flash forward to Easter break (the biggest summer tease ever). I was home alone and rolled out of bed at the crack of 11AM (for some reason when I go home I have no internal alarm) and decided, "You know what? Today I'm going to exercise!" This was a big step considering I was about to workout on a holiday break. So I started thinking about my options and considered bike riding to Jamba Juice--my former place of employment and creator of delicious smoothies, but then I decided I really wanted a passion tea from Starbucks. So I looked up the distance from my house to a nearby Starbucks and saw that it was 2.1 miles. Challenge Accepted.

I suited up and stole my mom's super cute Nikes for the venture because I needed all the motivation I could get. Then I downloaded this app called Run Keeper. If you run you need to get this! It is really easy to use and uses GPS to track your run, keeps time and pace, and even tells you how many calories you burned. It's great and you could even use it for walks if you don't like to run. It also links up to your playlists on your phone so you can listen to music through the app! Super cool! So I grabbed my headphones and headed out. I will now take you through the mental process that was my 2.1 mile run.

Mile 0- Begin jogging back behind my neighborhood by the creek. Listening to top 25 most played on my Iphone...this should be interesting...oh Shakira! I love Shakira. This is a good start. Oh man...I hope the creek hasn't changed since I was last back here. I wonder if anyone has ever really seen an alligator back here or if they just made that up. Okay Lizzie, this is good--TODAY IS THE DAY. You will make it 2 miles. Or live in shame forever. Ugh no, stop doing that. You can do this. "Red" by T-Swift? Ehhhhh I'm not sure how jogging to this will go. I'll try it out. You know for as much hate as she gets, Taylor sure knows how to write some lyrics that hit teenage girls. I mean they might not be philosophical.....but losing him WAS blue liked I'd never known, missing him WAS dark grey all alone, and forgetting him WAS like trying to know somebody you'd never met...and loving him WAS red!!! *insert guitar/drum solo here* Preach it Taylor.

Mile .5- Oh look this app has a nice lady voice that tells me I've made it .5 miles and how long it took me! 12 minutes pace? Maybe I should speed up a little. I bet it's the music I'm listening to--the beat isn't fast enough. Curse you Christina Perri. That was actually farther than I thought. I only have to do that 3 more times. There's that super cute house with the adorable back yard landscaping. I bet they have cute kids. I want cute kids. And good landscaping. Good thing Blanca* is going to be a landscape designer. Yes!!! T-swift is on again. "I knew you were trouble when you walked innnnnnn, so shame on me no-owwwwww" Interesting. I never thought Taylor Swift would be good jogging music. This is nice. Haha...that goat video is too great. Only 3 more half miles to go. I can totally do that.

Mile 1- God that second half mile seemed a lot longer than the first....I'm only half way done!!! Nooo! Positive thoughts Lizzie. You know that this is mostly a mental game. You can breathe just fine. Oh look I made it to Mason road! And now that new Paramore song is on! I'm so glad they are coming back. I loved her old music. "Don't go cryin, to your mama, cuz you're on your own in the real world!" Oh I'm definitely singing out loud. I hope none of these cars driving by saw that. Hey look Lizzie--you're conquering a fear of running where people can see you! I hope my boobs aren't too bouncy. That would be weird. Ugh I bet I look fat right now...Stop that! Focus on the music. You know I can think of several people who need to hear that song. Man now it's over! What's next? Yessssssss, triple threat Justin Timberlake. "I can't driiiiiink youuuuu awayyyyy." I heard there was a country version of this song. I can't imagine it would be better than JT.

Mile 1.5- Woooohooooo! I'm so close. Ocean's Rise by Hillsong United? Next. I love you Jesus, but your jams don't make good running music. I'll listen to it on the cool down. Man I love that song. Uh oh, there's a stop light. Do I stop? No that would be quitting. But then I might get hit by a car!!! Aha! Solution: run in place. This probably looks dumb. Oh well, I'm running across. Pedestrians always have the right-of-way, right? Oh the nice lady tells me I've made it 1.7 miles. I'm starting to struggle. Oh lord. Don't panic Lizzie. Crap. I can't breathe. I'm dying. This is it. They will find my body on Mason road. I didn't tell anyone I was going jogging! Oh God. At least I have on cute workout clothes. Do my bra and underwear match? I have to stop. No! I can't stop! (notice that We Can't Stop by Miley Cyrus is playing. Laugh and the irony) Opt to slow down to approximately the speed of a turtle galloping through peanut butter instead. Yeah okay...I can do this. I'm so close! Keep the slow pace for a couple minutes and then resume normal speed.

Mile 2- OMG! I did it! I made it to two miles!!! I didn't die!!! I can see Starbucks on the horizon! Forget this sidewalk, I'm running through the grass to get there more quickly. Ain't nobody got time for winding sidewalks. I wanted to make it 2 miles....no point in going farther than that! Haha. Venti unsweet passion tea with apple juice here I come! You know I'm kind of hungry. I think I'll grab some sushi from Kroger too. BOOM. #callmehealthy

Of course I proceeded to commemorate the moment and post it to my favorite form of social media, Facebook. Red face and all-- I didn't care. #nofilter because I, Lizzie Lewis, the non runner had made it 2.15 miles at a pace of 11:28 per mile. Not too shabby if I do say so myself. Hopefully this is the beginning  of my 5K prep. Now I just have to pick one and work my way up to three miles. I wanted to share this with y'all because I have gone from not being able to run a mile to making it 2.1 miles in about 2 months. That's not super fast progress and I have only been jogging twice a week. I am a normal, average girl who is trying to get more fit and if I can have this small victory so can you! So go get you a walking/jogging/running buddy and some cute tennis shoes--Starbucks is waiting ;)

Until next time,

-L