5k: done & done!

It's official: Matt & I have completed our first 5k! The decision to run a 5k was kind of a spur-of-the-moment type deal. Matt ran into a co-worker in the hallway at his office one day last month and the guy invited him to run in it. Since the 5k was to raise money for another co-worker who was diagnosed with multiple myeloma back in 2005, Matt readily agreed. He then called me to share the news that he had signed us up. I was excited about it. I've run consistently since middle school, including a brief cross country stint in high school. Even as an adult, I've continued to run once or twice a week. However (and this is a big however!), I am definitely a casual runner. My regular runs are usually about a mile and a half, at whatever pace I feel like. So, a 5k was a little bit out of my comfort zone.

Then there's Matt. Matt works out regularly, but his work outs consist primarily of weight training. He is not a runner by any means. And to say that he doesn't enjoy running is an understatement. So he took on a training program in the month leading up to the race to prepare himself. I just stuck to my regular running schedule, but downloaded the Map My Run app (I highly recommend it, if anyone is wondering) so I could make sure I ran 3.15 miles (the 5k distance) and I could monitor my pace.

Then came race day. We hit the road bright and early and headed to a park about a half hour from our house (my mom was kind enough to watch the kiddos). It was such a different experience for me; I'm used to running solo through our neighborhood, on flat pavement with a few hills here and there but no overwhelmingly steep inclines. Well, the 5k was nothing like my leisurely neighborhood runs. First of all, running in a mob of people is kind of intimidating. I felt pressured to run at a faster pace than I could maintain initially, just to keep up with the crowd. However, I realized pretty quickly that I'd have to pace myself if I was going to finish the race so I slowed down to a more manageable pace. The mob began to thin out shortly thereafter; the elite runners (and miraculously, my husband was in that crowd!) were a small group ahead of everyone else; I was in the middle; and then there was a much larger group bringing up the rear.

The terrain was rough! Running through the woods isn't quite like running through neighborhood streets. There were some very steep hills and we were running on a mulch covered path. I will be totally honest: I couldn't have been more excited to see that finish line. Matt finished in 25 minutes and estimates that I crossed the line about a minute to a minute and a half after him (the race was untimed to save money, but Matt used his Map My Run app to time himself during the race).

So, I can now officially cross running a 5k off of my to-do list!

Pre-race: all smiles & anticipation

 

And post-race with my cherry red face.