32 New Things: Run A 5k

Every year on my birthday I compile a list of new things I want to try.  Some of them are really difficult and obscure, some of them are shockingly mundane.  You can read about previous adventures here.

Why yes, I do wear eyeliner while running obstacle-riddled 5ks!

If you've been reading Yes and Yes for any amount of time - or keeping your eye on that sidebar of new things I should be trying - you might know that 'Run a 5k' has been on my list for, oh, three years.

Despite the fact that I was on the track team and dance team in high school (and I still take dance classes!) I've always believed that I Am Not An Athlete.  I'm not good at catching and throwing things, therefore I must be a failure at all things that involve moving my body.  This is also part of that super cool If I'm Not Immediately Good At It, I Don't Want To Do It school of thought.  Are you a student there, too?  Awesome.

I've been putting off doing a 5k for all of the usual reason - I was traveling, the weather was bad, I hate sports bras.  But while looking through my own blog archives, I came upon this post and decided that it was time to make that business happen.

So how do you convince yourself to do a 5k after three years of avoidance?  You spend money on an entry fee, you have a specific race date, and you have too much pride to fail.

A good friend from high school was sweet enough to sign up with me and as soon as I got my confirmation email for LoziLu, I signed up for their (free!) daily training emails, bought some running capris and started aiming for mediocrity.  But here's the weird thing:  I wasn't particularly mediocre.  I was, like, good-ish!

On the day of the race, my friend and I arrived awkwardly early and spent an hour appreciating all the costumes of the other runners (cows! tutus!  jean shorts + mustaches!)  When our heat was called, we lined up with about 40 other runners and trundled our way up and down three miles of hills, through two ponds, a giant slip and slide, two mud pits, a cargo net and several more obstacles. The race officials didn't time the runners but my photo-taking, encouragement-yelling mister timed us - and we finished the three mile, 10-obstacle course in 33 minutes!

What?!  I wasn't innately awful at running?  In fact, I was slightly better than mediocre?

Well, now I have to do it all the time and become awesome at it, right?  Right. 
I signed up for The Warrior Dash the next day.

What things do you assume you're bad at?  Have you tried to get better at them?  How do you feel about sports and athletic stuff?