Then like me, you may not have any idea what to expect.
Well, here’s my story… On Wednesday at 2 A.M., my husband and I got in my already-packed Prius and headed south. Eighteen hours, plenty of Diet Cokes, and a few potty stops later, we drove under that long-awaited arch with Mickey welcoming us to our home away from home.
But as my car headed down I-95, my mind wandered down Anxiety Road. What was a Tasty Cake Snack Sneak-er like me doing on my way to a 5K? And why in the world had I let anyone know I had signed up for such a thing?
There was no turning back now, though I did consider how I might convince my husband we could just forget the 5K part and enjoy a nice little Disney mini-vacation.
During those quiet hours in the car I had plenty of time to wonder…
- Would I get swept off the track for being too slow?
- Would I twist an ankle and get carted out on wheels?
- Would I huff and puff my way to the finish line, or worse, not make it at all? (And how would I explain that to everyone back home?)
- Would I look as much like the non-athlete as I felt?
- And then there were the logistics…Would I be able to figure out where to pick up my packet and how to get where I needed to go?
For goodness’ sake…What was I thinking when I signed up for this?!!!!
Actually, when I signed up I had been in the midst of a Couch to 5K program, feeling pretty good about my progress. (Hey, I was off the couch, running for 90 seconds, followed by 2 minutes of walking and doing it over and over for a 20 full minutes, 3 times a week. Not bad for an unathletic sort like myself, eh?! I’d be doing 3.2 miles in no time, I thought…no sweat!)
But then summer was over and I was back to teaching. In addition, we bought a house…a fixer-upper kind of house. Any spare minutes I had were spent sorting and packing 30 years worth of stuff and driving back and forth between the two houses (with my trusty treadmill being in only one of them and the increasingly colder PA weather discouraging my outdoor running). And let me remind you…I’m the mom of this Mousewives group and not ashamed to say all that packing and moving wore me right out!
I kept counting the weeks I had left until the 5K, convincing myself I had plenty of time to get myself back to a regular running schedule. Long story short, that didn’t happen. I ran when I could, but it was sporadic. Some days I felt good and others I was pretty sure I was a step away from keeling right over by the end of my treadmill time!
So maybe you can see why my anxiety level increased the further down I-95 I traveled.
But there had been no need for concern. I may never have “Runners 4 Life” or “26.2” on the back of my car, but I can honestly say the Disney Princess 5K was the most fun I have had in a long time! It all began with locating the ESPN Complex to pick up my packet and having a little glance at the Expo.
Not sure what I was expecting, but this was not it! (All in good ways, but more about that next time!)