My First 5k!

Last Friday, I ran my first 5k. Well, technically, it's not my first first, because right before I got pregnant with Cici in 2014, Adam and I did The Color Run. However, that is a super relaxed event (you can't really call it a race, because it is untimed), and I only ran about halfway before I had to stop, huffing and puffing, and walk the rest of the way, so I don't really count it as really running a 5k.

This race was pretty special because it's the first event I have done since starting a new journey towards fitness last June. About nine weeks after Cici was born, I decided it was high time to get in shape. When I first got on the treadmill, I could barely walk ten minutes before I got winded and my C-section incision started acting up. However, I stuck with it, and soon I could walk for twelve minutes. Then fifteen. Once I could walk for thirty minutes at a stretch, I started peppering the workouts with a minute of slow jogging. Next time, a couple minutes of jogging. Next time, I upped the speed a tiny bit.

It took about five months of doing that- just trying to outdo myself each time, no matter how tiny the change- until I was ready to tackle the Couch To 5k program. It took me fourteen weeks to complete the nine-week program, but in spite of my glacial progress, I am now consistently running 2-3 miles, three times a week! To someone who had previously never run three miles in her life, this is pretty incredible. For the first time in my life, I actually enjoy exercising.

(Next on the workout agenda...)

Friday's 5k was oodles of fun. It was an evening event, so we ran along the river as the sun set. Adam promptly shot up to the front of the pack (he ultimately finished in fourth place), leaving me to enjoy the beautiful evening. Fish were jumping in the water, and the city was quieting down... what a lovely run. I struggled a bit because I forgot to grab a snack when we left home, so I was running on empty by the time the race started. But I still ran the entire thing! WOO! 

The very last bit of the race, I decided to increase speed to pass the guy ahead of me; a minute later, when I started the descent down the hill to the finish line, that same guy went flying past me. I was't about to let him get ahead of me so easily, so we had this full-blown, pull-out-all-the-stops race! It was pretty exciting, and although he did ultimately beat me, it was by just a hair (we had the same official finishing time). My finish time was 29:09, Adam's was 20:41, and we were both very pleased with our results!