What a Difference a Year Makes...

2010...

...and 2011!!!

The 2nd Annual Cougarthon 5K was this morning.  Last year, my dear friend and PT, Angie, ran the inaugural running of the event, along with my principal, my team leader, and a few of my students.

I volunteered at the event.  I love my school and do many things to support it.  But I hated helping at that event.
Why???


Because I wanted to PARTICIPATE in it...and I knew that it was impossible.  And by impossible, I mean exactly that.  Impossible. Not  "unlikely"... not "uncertain"...truly, truly impossible.  You can see it in the pictures above.  There is no way the Angie on the left side of these pictures could have run, walked, crawled, or otherwise moved her way 3.11 miles. 

But what a difference a year makes!

A year ago, I weighed close to 300 pounds...this morning, I weighed 244.
A year ago, I could walk for limited distances...this morning, I walked 3 miles.
A year ago, I watched my friends set and achieve goals...this morning, I did that with them.
A year ago, I had no idea that I could ever finish a 5K...this morning I proved to myself that I can.
A year ago, I had a long way to go to meet my goals...this morning, I'm nearly half way there.

Doesn't it kinda make you wonder what the 3rd annual Cougarthon 5K is gonna bring?  Because I'm already thinking about it!  If I've come this far in a year...next year, who knows?!  I think I'll RUN it instead of walk it!

Because of the condition of the field at my school from the rains this week and the mud puddles it created, the distance of this 5K was actually shortened by a little bit...but it didn't matter to me. For those who are into running 5K's, this one couldn't count as an "official" 5K for timing purposes.  No one got to count their time as a "personal best"...except for ME!!!  I wasn't in it for an official time.  This counts for me as my first 5K, and I finished it!

Thank you to Angie, my husband, Dan, and all my friends and colleagues who cheered me on today.  Dan and Angie didn't let me finish last...they stepped aside and let me cross ahead of them, as I suspected they would.  I love them both for doing that for me.  But it didn't matter.  I won this race today.  I raced myself...the one you see in that picture on the left...and I WON!!!