Our first 5K

At the end of April, United Way and the YMCA were hosting a 5K in our town.  During the winter to prepare for my upcoming long distance bike ride, I found myself running around at our indoor track... a lot... probably 3-5 days a week!  I still remember the first days I went... (6 laps is a mile).  I would run one lap and then walk a lap.  Eventually I tried running two laps and walking one.  Finally one day I decided just to see if I could run ONE mile without stopping- and I did.  I felt SO accomplished.  Soon I was running 1 mile each day as a minimum.  My daughter completed a 5K the day I ran my first mile.  I knew someday I, too, would run a 5K.  The first time I did it I had gone 2 miles without stopping and I decided that if I could go that far I might as well just run an additional 7 laps to get my 5K in. Little did I know that once I ran my first 5K independently that my husband would suggest we run one officially!  I did run 5K one other day before the big race.

 Here is my daughter and I- Im nervous and excited.  I had run 3.1 miles before but it was always indoors and always flat.  My run was so slow people could speed walk past me but I kept a constant speed and made it a goal to not walk.

 Above is our pic before the race

 Here is our pic after the race.  My son noticed that his dad and sister had a medal and he asked why I didnt medal.  I told him my win was that I kept running and finished the 5K!

 Here we are during the actual run- oh sure- Im smiling in the picture...  don't let that fool you.  I wanted to be there for my daughter.  She stayed with me the first 2 miles (occasionally even running ahead and turning and around and running with me some more).  Right about at this picture when I asked her, "Are you having fun, hon?" and she enthusiastically replied "YES" (to which I grimaced a "me too.")  So at about this point I said- hon- run.  Have fun.  And she took off!  Her time was awesome  (32:53)  (I ran 34:28 and I was proud to be under 35 min!)  Who knows what her time would have been if she hadn't slowed down for me the first 2 miles!  She won first in the girls age division 7-14 years old!

 Here is my hot husband running during the race.  He came in third overall and first in his age category.  He ran 21:50.

Andy ran another 5K the following Wed.  It went from a Saturday in the 70s to a Wednesday in the 40-50s.  It drizzled his entire run.  I am SO thankful we had a beautiful day to experience our first 5K!

When people ask if I will do it again my initial thought is NO WAY- I just didnt enjoy the actual run.  I will probably try it again- especially to support and encourage my daughter.  Im glad I ran a lot this winter and I am glad I had this 5K to push me to keep running in the winter.  It became clear to me that I am more of a cyclist- you will see that in future posts!