My First 5K

Back in March, when I was trying to come up with some active goals, I decided I wanted to try to walk/jog a 5K this fall.  At that time, there wasn't a ton scheduled so I just kept it in the back of mind as something I wanted to do.  Periodically I would look to see what I could find but was still striking out.  Of course, I also wasn't going to do it by myself.  I knew I wouldn't push myself much if I tried to do it by myself.  So, I asked my friend, who is a runner and enjoys doing races, if she would do a 5K with me.  She agreed but we both said we weren't real interested in going downtown.  Someone must have read our minds!  That night, she told me there was going to be a 5K in October at the school we work at and it would benefit the Marching Band.  We decided we would do that one.  This also gave me a little more time to keep working on that whole jogging thing...

So, as the weeks went on, I was making more and more progress with the jogging.  I was able to go a little longer each week and I actually felt like I was going a bit faster too.  Even though I had listed it as a goal, I never thought I would be able to jog as much as I am now.  I mean, I had just started with one minute on, one minute off in mid-June.

The 5K was on Sunday morning.  Since I had been having issues with my stomach enjoying any kind of food over the last few days, I played it safe and didn't eat anything before the race, hoping it wouldn't affect me too much.  Usually I would make sure I had some kind of protein but I didn't want to take any chances.  The race was actually a Color Run, which, if you've never done one, was fun!  I know there are bigger ones out there but this smaller race was a good start for me.  As we talked with people before the race, I learned that the path would be fairly flat.  Wooohooo!!!  I loved hearing that.  We were also talking to another teacher who didn't realize how much weight I had lost and that it was my first race.  When I told her I had lost 87 pounds, she said, that's not just a lot that's a ****ton of weight!  Made me laugh and smile!!

So, when the race started , we just kind of took off.  Didn't realize right away we had left our co-workers behind us!  I didn't know I could move that fast!  My friend said she would keep talking to me but didn't expect me to respond.  She knows I really struggle with my breathing so that was a god thing for me!  She kept me entertained and I couldn't believe it when we made it to the water station and I found out that we were about halfway already.  We took a sip of water and kept going.  I think I made it another 1/2 mile or so before I needed to walk some.  While we were walking, I checked my time and couldn't believe it had only been 26 minutes!  At that point, I knew we could make it in under 40 minutes, which was my goal.  I think we walked for about 5 minutes and then started back up again.  The only other time we walked was up a hill and then we ran for the finish line!

What a great feeling, crossing the finish line!  And, they announced my time as 34:59!!  Never in a million years did I think I could do anything that fast, let alone complete a 3.1 mile race!  So fun!

My friends and co-workers are THE BEST!!

Now I have to keep working towards that 10K I signed up for in a couple of weeks.  I think it will actually be fun :)