Running For Women Enpowerment

My fingers and my toes, oh and my mouth are about the only parts of my body that does not ache at the moment. Every other part of my body, even parts i didnt know muscles existed in, aches/hurts like i was pummelled by a gang of oompa-loompas in my sleep....

Yesterday, i walked/ran a 5km marathon for the first time ever in my life.

It started as a topic of conversation. My friend Ng chatted me up one evening:
Ng: Have you ran a marathon before?
Me: No. Why?
I was half expecting her to say someone ran a marathon and now fainted and now....You get my drift?
Ng: There's one on  the 18th of June. Would you like to go?
Me: Are we running or walking? Because if we are running, i'm not interested. I'm not about to jog/juggle away the last muscles holding my already-nurtured-two-babies-and-now-pointing-downwards boobies up for nobody or cause.
When she was done laughing, she said i could run or walk or do both...whatever i decide to do was fine.

I never pass up a challenge and at least, not one where i was going to burn loads of calories. So, come Saturday the 18th of June, we got dressed as early as 6:30 a.m, loaded ourselves into the car and drove to Banana Island for THE marathon!

The JoyRunner Walk/Run 5km for Women Enpowerment is mostly aimed at encouraging the woman to love her body rather than fight it by eating right and exercising adequately. This would be their second marathon this year. I gotta admit, loving one's body is not as easy as it sounds. In fact, for me, its outright tough....i hate the body i have now. Where i used to see a flatboard stomach, i now see tubs and tubs of fat and loose flesh. I cannot even stand the sight of my thighs...they are the size of baby elephants each. Lemme not even discuss my bum! Lemme not....seriously. Anyways, the run was to teach women to love their bodies which would invariably boost self confidence and thus enpower them to be the best they can be....i guess!

The marathon was sponsored by Coca Cola, Chicken Republic, Park 'n' Shop, Spar, Dove and a host of others. It was such fun. After the run/walk session, there was the dance session {the best part of that event as far as i was concerned} that lasted for the better part of an hour. After the dance, there were two more presentations/seminars: one on understanding body shapes and tailoring dietary needs according to specific body shapes {apparently, i'm pear shaped and if i worked hard in the gym and starve myself well enough, i'm going to totally own Beyonce's bod! Something to look forward to} and the other was on exercising!

Oh, and there were prizes too. In fact, yesterday was the first time i saw the last three persons in a race being rewarded. Seriously, why didnt someone imtimate me to that fact before i started running? Next time, imma stretch that run....last is the new first!

Ng, Kate Henshaw and myself

My crew: L-R Myself, Kachy, Ng and Ifeoma

I never quite thanked Ng for dragging me along. My body feels thoroughly exercised. We should totally do this again....next year! Hahaha...just kidding. Thank you @engeez!!

Today is Fathers' Day. Happy Fathers' Day to all the dads out there, especially those that are reading this post. I totally appreciate!

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