Heavy Girl to Healthy Girl: One Song On My Playlist

Finishing my first 5K

I still remember that at one point in my life I hated to run. Now, I enjoy it - I even did my first 5K on October 7, 2012, and finished feeling absolutely great.

My workout playlist has many of my favorite songs. This playlist is what I listen to while running. One day I noticed that I would get that second wind every time I heard one particular song. I even tested the outcome by using a different playlist and that day I struggled through out the run.

Is this Crazy??? Perhaps, and perhaps I was just having a bad day, but when we are looking for something to make our struggle a little easier, we will grab on to any idea or belief that does just that.

My next experiment was just to listen to this one particular song ONLY while I ran. Well, Lo and behold -- it was a smooth run with a nice pace and I finished feeling good. There can be many theories to this hypothesis, but for now, I will stick to the one I know. This song funnels me energy, keeps me going on a steady pace, moving to the beat, and I identify with the words reminding me of both my journeys.

So what is the song you might be asking by now? If you don't already know --- No other than Kelly Clarkson "Stonger" (What Doesn't Kill You).

So here is the big test -- Next weekend, on Saturday, December 15, 2012, I will officially be running my second 5K - "Freeze Out Cancer" and I will be listening to "Stronger" throughout the whole race. It will be my first race in the cold weather, so lets see how I do. I'm feeling very confident.......

I will be doing my official third 5K on December 31st into January1st-- "New Year's Eve Dash". Will I be listening to Stronger only? I would say YES! regardless of the out come on December 15th. So Stayed Tune....

I can't believe I have become a 5K runner. My brother, Rudy, even challenged me to do one 5K a month for the whole year of 2013. I have accepted the challenge---- God willing first. So I am officially declaring that the New Year's Eve Dash will be the 5K for the month of January. - LOL I have to remember, that my ultimate goal still is to run the Diva's Half Marathon on October 6, 2013.

It hasn't been all rosie like it might sound to you. I have struggled to build up endurance running. When I first started I was only able to run 5 minutes even though I had already lost 45 pounds. It was frustrating. KillerKetsy always reminded me of patience and consistency--adding one minute at a time.

Right now I am struggling with a hamstring problem, but stretching helps. I even purchased a foam roller ($10) to stretch, and it actually has helped. Foam rollers are versatile tools for stretching, rehabilitation, physical therapy and fitness.