Turtles in Peanut Butter and a Bucket Filling

So my first 5k of the year is this Saturday.  My company is one of the sponsors and I'm the only one from work doing the run.  ("Run" in the sense that I will be going faster than when I walk to the refridgerator)

So I didn't decide until the last minute to do, due to the fact it is on Easter Weekend and I wasn't sure on what plans had been made.  But with the ok from my beloved hubby, I signed up myself and my wonderful son, Spencer!  So basically I've had about 2 weeks to see how long it would take this body to run 5k or for those of us who aren't on the metric system, that's 3.1 miles.

So my mission I chose to take on is to complete the 5k in less that 45 minutes.  Now that's a little less than a 15 minute mile, which might seem slow to some, but until you actually start to run and try to beat that time, that last mile seems more like trying to run to the moon.  But with the 45 minute goal also comes my goal of not passing out or tripping.  Which if any of you know me, I'd place bets on the tripping happening, I believe the odds are 1000:1 that I will trip at some point.  I look at my feet alot just to make sure that they are there I suppose, but when I look up I seem to find the one hole in the street the size of a small golf ball and seem to hit it precisely right in order to tumble like a weed in the old West.

So big celebration when I cross the finish line, because that will mean that it's over and I can collapse in a happy heap.

I never in a million years thought I would look forward to getting to run.  I know other people can run longer, faster, and probably look like something out of a Nike commercial when they do run.  Me, I look like a turtle running through peanut butter while juggling jelly beans in the rain, (makes for an interesting image, right, I should probably put together children's color book pages)

With my weight loss, I've had to do a restructuring on my head also.  If you would have told me a year ago I would be "running" in a 5k, working out every day and not having a snickers or Diet Pepsi for over six months, I would have called you insane and suggested a straight jacket, but a pretty one with sparkles and a nice bedazzled helmet.  My heart is lighter, yes I still have those days when I wish I could change things, or the stresses of every day life catch up with me, but when I go work out and sweat that 30 to 60 minutes, it seems to release all those built up negative feelings and it's just me against me.  Doesn't mean that I've solved any world problems or that the things that were negative miraculously became positive, but my outlook on the situation changed. Yesterday was a prime example, My work day started on a negative and unfortunately it seemed to keep piling up and more negative on top of negative.  When I got home last night, I asked Spencer if we were working out, normally he says, "Yes" right away, but oddly this time he looked at me and said, "Mom, you look worn out, did you have a bad day at work? We don't have to work out if you don't want to."

Then it hit me looking at that sweet face, that I was letting my negative day come home with me and I was being a carrier and just by my demeanor, my son could tell the day had taken me over.  I looked at him and said, "Let's go to the gym, it might only be for 20 minutes though" I didn't think I could do much in my state of mind at the time.

So I changed my clothes, but on my snazzy new running shoes and off we went.  60 minutes later when we returned home, we were smiling and laughing and joking with each other.  What started as a miserable and draining day ended with a "refilling of my bucket".

So be a bucket filler not a bucket drainer.  It's hard to keep your bucket full all the time, but it does help when you are feeling that your bucket is being drained to have something or someone give you a boost.  Sometimes when you give from your bucket to fill another it really just fills yours even more.

Think of me on Saturday morning, unless you hear the Life Flight chopper heading out to Lake Cornelia to transport me after my monumental tripping accident, then if you could stifle you giggles because you know I'm going to ask the pilot to do a few drive bys of my friends house so I can wave at them.  Cause how many times am I going to get to ride in a helicopter I tell you?

So fill you bucket.  Set your goals and try each day to to get closer to them.  And if someone gets in your way, swing your bucket at their head!  Cause you are kind, you are smart, and you are so very important in this world and don't you forget it!

Have a peachy rest of your week my friends.  And I hope the Easter Bunny brings you lots of goodies, but beware of the brown jelly beans.. ha ha ha.

Until next time my friends...