Along with a group of friends and family, I participated in the 2nd Annual Flag Day 5k in Newburyport, MA. It was a picture perfect night. After a week of rain, the skies cleared and it was a beautiful evening for a run.
Let me start by saying, I was never a runner. I'm not even sure I can consider myself one now, but in high school, I used to cry for days leading up to the one mile fitness test. I even went so far as getting a doctor's note a few times saying I couldn't run due to my asthma. I started running (and by running I really mean jogging) when Dan and I got engaged. At that point, I couldn't run for more than 2 minutes. I was walking on the treadmill and would add in 2 minutes here or 2 minutes there. Before I knew it, I was up to 5 minutes and continued to alternate running and walking.
Once the wedding came and went, though, I stopped. I didn't get back into it until about a year later. I had to start from scratch. Eventually, I worked up to running a mile. A whole mile! I had never done that. I started to increase my speed and found I could run just under an 11 minute mile. Not too shabby for a non-runner. I can now run 1.25 miles straight before I hit the mental wall. I'm having the worst time breaking through this. I try to run at least twice a week and my goal is to eventually run 2 miles straight then 3. It's a long process for me.
When the race began, we walked right past the 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 mile markers and stood just before the walkers. And then...we ran. I didn't have a plan, I was just going to run until I, hopefully, hit the first water station marking the one mile mark. I don't know how, but I did just that. My feet were killing me already though and I wanted to quit. I really need to invest in a pair of running shoes. My current shoes cause blisters on the insides of both feet and they were burning. I eventually had to walk and for the rest of the race, I'd walk a little bit, then run. We finally got to the home stretch and ran the last few minutes. I really just wanted to be done! My goal was to finish in under 45 minutes. In my trial runs, I finished in just under 42 minutes but thought that running outside would be a bit more difficult than at the gym. My official time was 39 minutes and 18 seconds! I was so proud of myself.
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| My sister-in-law, best work friend, and best friend at the race! |
Will I do another 5k? You bet! In the meantime, I am going to keep running. I do get frustrated when people I know can run the 3 miles with no problems. I don't know what is stopping me from doing that. I'll get there, though, one step at a time.
Be well,
