Run, Forest, Ruuuun!

I did it! I ran my first 5K. Well...the term "ran" is used loosely. I didn't exactly run the whole thing. I walked part of it, but I must say that I ran more than I walked. While on the Topperettes at WKU, we were forced to run the 10K two years. The first time, I didn't run the whole way. I walked. a lot. The second time, I ran the entire time and was very proud of myself. I might have been in the back with all the firemen wearing their equipment, but garsh darn it, I finished that sucker with pride! The sense of accomplishment didn't mean so much to me, however, because I was "forced" to run them.

That is why, when making my list of 30 before 30, I decided that a 5K needed to be included. I wanted to do this on my own terms, because I wanted to. Not because some coach told me that I HAD to, because she was running obsessed. I registered online and paid the $30 fee. Mainly to get the t-shirt. It didn't really happen after all if I don't get the t-shirt to prove it. I let my facebook friends know that I had registered to run and was worried, because let's face it...when given a choice between eating a huge cheeseburger followed by a blizzard or working out, you know what I'm going to choose. My friend, Erica decided that she wanted to torture herself with me. What a great friend! So, we researched training routines and had a strong start. We would run after school on the greenways behind my school. She even joined the gym that I donate money to each month (because let's face it, I haven't been in quite sometime. Donation), so that we could get in shape and run this thing. Yeah...that didn't last. Life happens. Especially when you are a kindergarten teacher who leads an exciting life. No, in all seriousness. Things got busy and I began spending a lot of my free time working at school.

The day of the 5K came. I showed up at Erica's house and we leisurely walked down to Deb's house to meet her and Todd (those crazy people would be running the 10K). When Deb saw us, her reaction was, "Um, I think you are supposed to start running soon." Sure enough...we had 15 minutes to make it to our race, check in and get to the start line. We had to run to get to our 5K run. No bueno. I made it to the end of her street and had to start walking. I took this as a bad sign. We actually made it on time and were able to start at the back of the pack.

And I finished. I ran more than I walked and I finished. I didn't die. And, if truth be told...I actually enjoyed it. There was something about it that made me feel very accomplished. I had decided to do this on my own and I had followed through with it. I am proud of myself. Next time, I want to improve my time. Yes, you read that right, no reason to go back to re-read for comprehension. I said, "Next time."