Happy Wednesday! Depending on when you are reading this, I am either on my way back from my family vacation or I am already back to life, work and reality. It was so good to get away with my family and make memories, especially before everyone heads back to school. We had such a great summer with everyone being home and I’m sad to see my siblings head back to school. Thankfully for me, there’s no summer vacation when you are working, so the summer fun doesn’t stop here. There’s still plenty of time to enjoy the warm weather and activities.
Now onto, today’s post!
One of my New Year’s Resolutions was to run a 5K and I crossed that off my bucket list on August 5th.
To give you a little background, I have never enjoyed running, so I didn’t do it as a form of exercise growing up or as an adult. I preferred weight training, walks, the elliptical, or bike to get my cardio in. However, I was always amazed at people who loved running, ran miles a day and competed and I always gave them major credit for their dedication and drive.
At the start of the year when I was creating my yearly goals, I wanted to find a way to challenge myself physically and mentally and decided running was something I could do to set a goal and see the end results. It was also something new I had never tried before, and I was excited for the challenge.
I am by no means an expert at running or training for long distance running, however, this is what worked for me and how I trained for my first (spoiler alert-not last) 5K.
My boyfriend has run for years and ran competitively in grade school, high school and college, so I asked him for some advice ahead of my training.
Here’s what he recommended for training for a race; give yourself plenty of time to train, incorporate a rest or walk day after a run day, build up your mileage as you go (you want to be able to run more miles than just what the race is intended for), and even if you aren’t feeling it and your time is bad, still get your run in.
I started my training in the winter by running at the gym when I would go to lift and workout. I started small by running half a mile or so and just to get my body used to running.
As the seasons changed from winter to spring, I started to run outdoors and for longer distances as it got warmer. I started running a mile and then upped my mileage every few weeks until I was running over three miles before my race. I started to run on a treadmill at the gym (which I was not a fan of- I don’t like being stagnant), I also did a majority of my running in my yard which is a mix of pavement and grass and then I did some running on just pavement.
Training for my race wasn’t always fun or easy, there were days where I was slower since I did a heavier lift at the gym or I was tired or I wasn’t in the right state of mind, but since April I ran two or three times a week and on the tough days, I would always tell myself, at least I ran, even if my time wasn’t where I wanted it to be at.
While I ran, I would often listen to a podcast, music, or even an audiobook. I found that helped keep me focused or maybe distracted when I was struggling to finish.
The more I ran, the more I was surprised with how I had come to enjoy the run. At the beginning, it would be a challenge sometimes to finish a mile, but towards the end, I was exceeding three miles and I would keep going. I loved the way I would feel at the end of the run. I felt stronger with each mile I finished, and I loved the feelings of endorphins released at the end. I kept track of all my runs and got excited to see my times change as my miles increased. It was also a great reminder to see how far I had come.
Through my training, I decided to upgrade my sneakers. I had been running on the same sneakers I had for years that were getting worn out, so I upgraded my kicks this year to a pair of New Balance. I have been loving them for my training.
Some of my favorite runs while I was training were when I was at the beach and running on just pavement and not around my yard.
When it came time for finding a 5K, I chose a local festival that had a community 5K in the morning before the festivities got underway. My goal for the day was to just finish it and have fun.
I was nervous on race day, since it was my first time competing and I later learned they had the largest crowd for the race, over 200 people competing. Based on advice other runners gave me, I decided to forgo music or podcasts and just run and I’m so glad I did, it put me in a different mindset, and I believe it ultimately made me faster in the end.
My whole family came out to support me and cheer me on and my boyfriend ran with me too. I finished the race with my best time ever.
I had such a good experience, and I definitely got the runner’s bug. While this was my first race, it certainly won’t be my last. I loved the journey to get to where I am today and now, I want to continue to do better with my and challenge myself to longer runs.
Stay tuned for my next 5K! I’m so glad I stuck to my goal of competing and through this process, I discovered a new hobby. I’m proud to officially call myself a runner!