This morning I completed my 4th 5k race, however, something was very different. For the first time ever I walked away happy and completely satisfied!
Ever since I had the random idea to run a 5k as I posted way back last March, my goals have always remained somewhat the same:
- Complete it healthy and have fun
- Run the entire time
- Sub 45 minutes
Thus far, I’ve always completed the first goal, just completing. While I was proud each time of what I accomplished, how it all played out always felt like somewhat a participation ribbon.
Today that changed.
The Results
I ran the entire distance, on top of that I got a PR! Here’s my official time card:
Ok, for those that follow the blog, I only beat my previous PR by 3 seconds, but to that I say STILL COUNTS! Mark down goals 1 & 2 thank you very much!
Also, my only complaint about this race is there were a LOT of walkers that didn’t adhere to the guidelines of starting in the back/not taking up the entire road by going 2-by-2 max. So, since I’m slower, I was roped in with them and literally was zig-zagging between walkers the ENTIRE race! Even people in corral’s in front of me were walking the whole time!
I fully understand that everyone has different reasons/goals when running. Some for fun, and many in this race was their first race of the kind, so I can’t get that annoyed. It just means I have to improve my pace so I can get into a faster corral in the future!
What This Means To Me
Like I mentioned in the beginning, “completing” a 5k is one thing, but actually running the entire thing is a completely different level. This feels so much more “real” to me, and the sense of accomplishment….I guess, it makes me not feel like a fraud when writing about it.
It also marks a high in my endurance and stamina, and done when I’m probably 20lbs heavier than I was when I got my previous PR a year ago.
It also marks my improvement, even with my needing to navigate through the walkers, my rankings improved in general. Went from bottom 3-5% on Males & Males 30-34, today I was just in bottom 13%. Progress!
Looking back, when I first decided to do a 5k, it was right when I started getting confident enough to jog on the treadmill at the gym. Until then, I was just power walking. So, essentially I went from power walking only, to jogging a 5k in a little over a year and a half.
I get a little emotional thinking about how far I’ve come.
Support
I’ve had friends run at my previous races, but I usually told them to run ahead and meet their own goals instead of staying back with me. Usually that was a mix of me wanting to support their goals, but also me not wanting to feel like I’m holding them back. Just an overall general insecurity of mine.
This race, however, my friend insisted on running with me. While I’ll admit I was initially uncomfortable with it for the aforementioned insecurities mixed with my inherent introverted-ness, I really appreciated it in the end. In fact, I completely owe me running the entire thing to him.
There were a couple times where I wanted to stop. I was stuck behind a group on an incline at 2.85 miles, my legs were burning, I wanted to stop. It just took a quick look and a “we’re almost there man” to give me the boost to keep pushing on through.
Even seeing the rest of my friends racing today. Many of them completed their first race, got a PR, or completed the 15k even after a break from racing. It seems like the entire group is getting fit together. Thinking big picture, having that support group and team mentality has been truly amazing.
What Next?
So, now that I have the TRUE 5k under my belt, what comes next? Logically, this becomes the new bar and I need to improve from here. There’s two ways to improve: speed and distance.
Running a faster pace is the logical priority between the two, but increasing the distance will not only help my stamina, but give me another long term goal to look toward. Because those medals the 15k racers got definitely looked shiny. Maybe next year!
Until then, I’m stretching, rolling out, getting a massage tomorrow, and enjoying the moment for now.
Today was a good day.
Edit/addition: Another large difference in this race was I did NOT do my usual sprint across the finish line. I wanted to, I tried! But I was only able to pick up my pace a little bit. I actually think that’s a really good thing, that means that I put my everything out there today and didn’t have anything left in the tank to spare at the end!