Summer Goal: Run a 5k
I have not ran a 5k in 10 years and even the 5k I ran 10 years ago, left me sore, unprepared, and exhausted. This summer/this year, I sat out with a number of goals that relate to my health and wellbeing and also our family and home. One of those goals was the run a 5K and run it well.
After having the baby in January 2021, then having emergency surgery and numerous complications and contracting MARSA, my body (my physical, mental, and emotional state) was very challenged. I spent months with wound treatments/therapy; limited physical activity; having a wound vac attached to my body; being in pain and tons of medications. It took almost 6 months to feel halfway like myself again let alone run or workout much.
I started running again that summer but slowly and steadily. By December, I decided that I needed to work harder, push myself harder, and develop some endurance. That is when I started to build up my running distance and pace. I slowly built up to running 4 miles at a good, consistent pace, with limited challenges in breathing. It took 7 months to do this (for me). I also ran outside a couple of times to change up the feeling of running on a treadmill to running on a road/pavement. Which is completely different. A treadmill has some give while a road/pavement does not.
On June 4th, I ran the Sunburst with thousands of other people. It was kind of intimidating to get dropped off at the starting line and be surrounded by thousands of people who were lining up. My anxiety was through the roof, not sure why. Maybe due to the large crowd or the fact that I put in so much time and energy into preparing for this event/moment for 7 months.
My goals for this run were to run the whole time, to run well, and to improve on my personal time which was a 10.14 mile. I was able to accomplish all three with a personal best time (average) of 9.12 a mile. That was almost a minute better than my goal. I will not lie, that I am sore today but getting on the treadmill to walk.
I did this run for myself, my husband, my daughter, and our boys. I did for us. I wanted to prove to myself that I could do it and also show my family that we can achieve goals if we work hard, be consistent, and push ourselves. Running into the Notre Dame stadium, onto the 50-yard line for the finish was pretty awesome. I hope to run a few more 5k’s this summer but the goal for 2023 is to run a 5k with my husband beside me.
The treadmill awaits…
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