5K? Cakewalk!

A couple of months ago, my friend Lori asked me to walk The Justice Run 5K with her.  A friend of hers had asked her to run with them, and after she finished laughing at them, she said she'd walk it.  I was glad she asked me to go with her - anti-human-trafficking is a cause near and dear to my heart and that of my family.  Also, the last 5K I did was the Komen Walk several years ago, and I huffed and puffed through that thing.  Knowing that a 5K is only 3.1 miles and I do that on a regular basis, I thought it would be fun to spend some time with Lori and her daughter, since I don't see them very often.

photo credit: www.moresugarthanspice.com

So we suited up and walked our walk.  See?  We did have fun :)  (we're both wishing we could remember what we were laughing about, but ... it'll just have to be a good memory to know that we did)

Pic sidenote:  it's one of the ones the Justice Run posted on Facebook, so I tagged myself in it.  My sister told me she had to look closely to be sure it was me!  I guess 42 lbs does tend to make a difference in one's looks, huh?

Anyway, as you can see, Lori is wearing her 6-month-old daughter, who looked like this during the time that she wasn't sleeping:

Yes, I asked Lori if I could plaster her baby's face on the Interwebs

Seriously, how cute is that darling little face?  So cute that I sent this pic to my sis and the aforementioned Sharon to tell them to please arrange for me to look at something equally cute when we do the half marathon.  My sister offered her dog, which I told her was not even remotely close.  Thankyouverymuch but try again.

I'm pretty sure that being distracted by a cute baby could make almost any walk bearable.  Maybe Lori will just come with me to Seattle.

Postscript on that walk is that on Tuesday, I did my Safeway walk with grocery backpack, and weighed it when I got home.  I did half of that walk with 12.5 lbs on my back!  And thought I was kind of a stud, too.  Until I SMSd Lori to see how much her baby weighs.  Uh .... she did a whole 5K wearing 18 extra pounds.  I guess I'll shut up now :)

Post-postcript on that walk is that my sister pointed out this little medical treat:  for every pound lost, it's a 10 pound force reduction on your knees when running.

So there's that.

In terms of "progress", I can tell you unequivocally that this walk was a true example of the progress I'm making, and I really hope it encourages you to get moving.  Here's the thing:  as you know, I'm training to walk the Seattle Half Marathon at the end of November.  Training.  (I know, LOL)  But I really do have a training plan I'm following!  And Sunday was supposed to be my "EZ" (yes, that really is supposed to be "easy") day.  Are you listening?  3.1 miles IS easy!  Yes, friends, at the end of my 22nd week of walking, and now as I train to do 13.1 miles, 3.1 is absolutely, positively, beyond a shadow of a doubt, classified as EASY.  WOO HOO!

Edit:  I just remembered my plan to include more "progress" pictures on this blog AND that I have a pic of that last 5K.  I was carrying a sign that said "Fight Like a Girl", and listed names on it of people I was walking for.  Here I am in October 2008.  Evidently I wear pony tails for 5Ks :)