5K Recap
This past Saturday, my family did a local 5k for our high school band's annual fundraiser. My husband, son and I did it last year and it wasn't an easy course. There are several hills and there is a large hill toward the end that really makes you dig deep.
This year, we had all five of us running! This is the first time that all five of us have participated in a running event together. I was so excited and proud to help promote family fitness. I feel like we are trying to do more physical activities as a family and our kids are going to benefit from them.
I have been working out and training more lately so I felt better going into this race this year and I figured that I would struggle less with the course. I had no idea that my recent training and workouts have helped so much that I would find this course much easier this year! I didn't really struggle at all with the course itself. Yes, the hills were still large and they are a challenge but I have found a great technique that helped so much. I used to look to the top of the hills and see how much farther I had to go. I now look down and watch myself taking each step and telling myself in my head that I can do this and that I am doing it. Mind over matter, right?!
The only challenge that came to me toward the end of the run was that it was starting to get warmer out and the sun was out. However, before I knew it, we were in the home stretch and I saw the flag that marked the 3 mile mark...and also saw my son who was cheering my husband and I on. He does this at every 5k, he finishes and then comes back to find us on the course and cheer us to the finish.
My husband and I were running together as usual, our older son was way ahead of us as he was on a mission to beat his PR with a new time. Our daughter was walking/jogging with her friend and our little guy was with my in-laws waiting to do his 1k race.
As for our times....my son was hoping for a time around 24 minutes since his personal record was 25 minutes. He CRUSHED it with a time of 22 minutes!!! I am so very proud of him and his efforts and drive to be the best he can be. I am amazed by him. Last year, my time was 39:40 and this year my time was 33:25!! I shaved over 6 minutes off my previous time....training paid off big time! Chuck had a time of 36 minutes last year and this year got 33:05. We ran the entire race together then he started sprinting for the last .10 of the 5k where I decided to keep a steady pace so I didn't burn out before the finish line! Jada did more walking than jogging and had a time of 44 minutes. Not too terrible for her first 5k...we are happy she decided to join us! Lincoln did his 1k and we all lined up to run it with him and when the guy yelled to start the fun run, he took off. He weaved in, out and around dozens of the other kids and just zoomed away from us. We put Chuckie in charge of keeping up with him since he is the fastest. He did so well. He is still wearing his medal he got and proclaims that "it was the best day of my life when I got my medal!" haha.
Moving Forward
I am enjoying doing 5k's and they are a great accomplishment of mine. I enjoy seeing the race bibs and medals on my dresser and I plan on making something to display those someday. I've decided that I will always do 5k's unless I give myself a goal of moving that up to a 10k. Of course, I love the 5k's and will continue to do them but I want to mix in a longer distance.
A local 10k fundraiser for our local lake is the perfect opportunity for me to do my first 10k. It is on all the roads around our house and even starts out a half mile from our house. The course goes past our house and ends up at the local lake that we are fundraising for. I have begun the training and so far, I am enjoying it. I got my run in this morning and by the end of the week, I will have logged at least 8 miles. I think this is a perfect goal for me. I will feel accomplished and I can't wait to feel the pride when I run across that finish line.
My ultimate goal is to run a half marathon. I plan on continuing my training after the 10k run to start training for a half marathon. There is a half that is happening in mid October that I would love to do. I said that I wouldn't miss my son's football games for anything that would be strictly to benefit myself but this half is during football season. It is a mostly downhill course that would be the perfect race for my first half. I am struggling with the decision. I am hoping that the football schedule comes out soon so that I know for sure if I can do this or not. They cap it at 1250 runners so I don't want to miss out on registering if our schedule allows it.
I could say, no, I am doing this for me because I am worth it, I have been working for this, etc. However, if he has a football game and I do this, then no one would be at the finish line to see me finish it. I want my family there to cheer me on and see my accomplishment. Does that sound terrible?!
Goals
A lot of my goals remain the same as they have been for quite some time.
Toning: I need to tone my body in several places and keep them trim. I want to be able to fit nicely into my clothes and not feel stuffed into them.
Endurance: I am trying to build up my endurance in both running and working out. I have been working on breathing and mental exercises to help me in this department.
Happiness: Not all of my goals are fitness related. Shocker, I know! I want to make sure that I am here and present for all the moments that are so easily skimmed over. I want to sit and listen when my son is telling me a story because even when it seems like a silly little story, it's his story and I want to hear it.
Time: I am trying to manage my time a bit better. I am constantly on the go and I need to prioritize, reorganize and finalize a schedule that works for all of us. As summer is nearing, I will be changing my work schedule to be home earlier and working more hours. I know there will be times that the kids will want to do things and so I'm hoping I can acccomodate them and still work better hours. This is definitely a work in progress!
No comments:
Post a Comment