My First 5K

A couple of weeks ago, I did something I never thought I would -- ran a 5K! And not only that, I managed to actually run the whole 3.1 miles without walking!

Seriously, I have never been very athletic. I have always hated running -- was always the last one to finish when we had to run a mile in PE, etc. I never in my life thought I would actually choose to run.

Over a year ago, my sister Amy (who used to be like me in regards to running but had begun to run some races and lost some weight and was enjoying it) convinced me to start training for an Iron Girl Triathlon with her later this summer. She was pregnant at the time, so we knew we would have over a year to get ready (which was a good thing!).

I decided to start with some running training. I had some friends who had done the Couch to 5K training program, so that's where I started. I did pretty good with it until the holidays, when my exercise time got dropped from the busy schedule. So in January, I decided to backtrack and start the training almost over at the beginning and work my way through it again.

My good friend Emily -- who has been one of my best cheerleaders -- agreed to run in a 5K with me this spring. I needed to run a 5K -- I knew it would be good practice for me in regards to the triathlon training (which includes a 5K run). We decided on a small 5K race down in Tulia (where she lives). Unfortunately, Emily hurt her back the day before the race so she was flat in bed that morning and wasn't able to run with me. We were both sad! But I decided I still needed to go through with it.

I had only managed to run 3 miles a couple of times in my training. But the day of the race, I was able to do it again! I was very slow (41 minutes), but so proud of myself when I finished! It was a perfect day for a race too -- beautiful spring morning with a small group (no more than 50 people) in a small town (you can tell how high-tech everything was by the handwritten race numbers!)

I can't say that I enjoy running -- at least not yet. But I do know that it's something I can do -- I can't go far and I don't go fast -- but I can do it!