My Wednesday run was so successful, I decided to skip ahead and go for the 5K today! I am so proud of what I have been able to do during these past 8 or so weeks. Think about that...just two short months ago, I was scared to run for even 1 minute, and today, I ran a 5K. This has been my dream for over 10 years. I have always wanted to be a runner, and now I can proudly say that I am!
The race started and I had a split second moment of panic where I said, "Holy cow, I am running a 5K. This is it. I can't turn back and quit, I have to do this." I quickly shoved that thought out of my mind and just kept going. My goal was to finish the race and not stop to walk at any point. I was determined.
I reached the 1-mile point at 11 minutes. "OK, I'm not doing too bad," I thought. But then I realized, I still had 2 miles to go. Thankfully it was nice and cool and breezy out, so I wasn't dying from heat exhaustion. I pretty much ran alone for most of the race. A whole ton of people passed me, and there were a handful of people behind me. I actually liked it that way. I could just be myself and keep my own pace and run the way I was used to running.
During the 2nd mile, Evan came back to find me and ran the rest of the way with me. I was definitely slowing down a lot, but I was NOT going to stop to walk. I was playing the "song game" in my head. Anytime a new song came on, I would say, "OK, just run through till the end of this song." Then the next song would come on and I would say it again. I just wanted to keep going.
I rounded the final corner to the home stretch. I couldn't believe it...I was almost there! I had a little moment where I ran past my grandma's old house and started to cry. I blew her an imaginary kiss and then headed for the finish line. Some of the kids from the Dunellen cross country team saw me coming in and ran back to meet me. They ran in with me and kept me going. I saw my time slowly reaching 40 minutes and I wanted to get less than that so I sprinted to the finish line.
My final time? 39:52. I don't care how good or bad you think that is. I achieved my goal: I finished, and I didn't stop to walk at any point. It was great having people cheering for me and keeping me motivated. I cannot believe I just ran a 5K. I cannot thank you all enough. Everyone who has read this blog, supported me, cheered me on, encouraged me...THANK YOU. I could NOT have done it without all of you.
So, I guess the question now is, am I going to keep running? HECK YEAH!!!
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