A few weeks ago, Sam and I went out to a great little craft beer bar, and while enjoying our beers and people watching (possibly my favorite thing to do) I saw a flyer about a 2K walk, 5K and 10K run for Parkinson's Disease. I instantly thought it would be so fun to do the 2K walk with some girlfriends - you know, exercising, chatting, and helping a good cause. Well of course when I called up the girls, they decided we should push it a little harder and attempt the 5K run.
Let me just clarify something real quick: I hate running. Things jiggle, my eyeballs feel like they might fall out, my fingers swell, I wheeze, I sweat, my heart might pop. Scary stuff. Not fun.
But I can't back down from a challenge.
So on Saturday morning, Jamie, Bethany, and I whipped up some greek yogurt pancakes and bacon for a protein filled breakfast, then made our way to the starting line.
I felt like I was an Olympic athlete with my number bib -- it's the first time I've ever raced so I've never worn one before, and I think just the thought of having a number pinned to my shirt made me feel extra fast.
Mile 1: I felt like death. The start was too fast. I only made it about halfway through the first mile before I had to walk, not to mention that the route took us over a HUGE hill on the first mile.
Mile 2: Though it took me all of mile 1 to find a groove, I finally found it, and stuck with it for all or most of mile 2. I felt good, I was passing a few people, I wasn't thinking about the jiggling, and the sweating, or the fat fingers.
Mile 3: Walk. Run.Walk. Run. There was no jogging. I was just trying to finish. I lost the groove that I had in mile 2. And just wanted to be DONE.
Last tenth of a mile: I had finally caught up with Jamie. Or maybe she was kind enough to wait for me, I'm not sure which. But we pulled every last ounce of strength and every last molecule of oxygen and sprinted the entire last tenth of a mile. But the finish line made it so worth it - people were cheering and yelling and waving, and I felt like I was going to faint but that didn't stop us from running right across the line. It was a powerful moment. I understand now why people like racing, such an immediate feeling of accomplishment.
Are you a runner? Do you have any tips to help get me out the door? Does everyone feel as jiggly as I do? Give me your tips!
Yay for running! I love to run but that hasn't always been the case. For me, the more I do it, the easier it gets. I started with the Couch to 5k program & that really helps build your endurance! I have the app on my iPhone.
ReplyDeleteHave a great day!
Hi Katie! Thanks for the advice - I've heard of the Couch to 5K program, but didn't have time to start it before this race. That's my goal though, to complete the program before snow comes!
DeleteThanks for sharing the Typographic Verses website! Love it!
Enjoy your weekend!
Being a competitor, this was was one of the funniest entries I've read. Thank you. You can try training with 5 minutes of walking and 1 minute of jogging. When you can easily do this, switch to 10 minutes of walking and 5 minutes of jogging. You can play around with the numbers to make your training comfortable. It's worth it...if only for the After Race Accomplishment Feeling : )
ReplyDeleteHi Jennifer! I'm glad you found this funny! I LOVE your idea of walking 5 min/jogging 1 minute then playing with the times. I was advised to do that, but during the race completely lost my marbles. I think I need a watch with a bigger font too ;)
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