5K Update

After months of training, lots of early morning runs, sore muscles and eating better I can proudly say that I finished my first ever 5K.  I ran the Africa Hope Run on October 19th and ended up in the middle of the pack.  I wasn’t so much concerned with time or pace as I was finishing the race.  Ultimately I had not run prior to the race itself for over a week before running this race and surprisingly I was able to post my best pace since I started training.  My wife and daughter were there to cheer me on and it was such a great feeling to be able to cross the finish line.  Months of hard work and determination had finally paid off.  Some stats about the journey:

-Training started on June 24th
-First average pace time 12 minutes, 39 seconds
-5K race run on October 19th
-Final pace time 11 minutes, 40 seconds
-Distance ran 3.1 miles
-Total weight lost 29 lbs
-Bad cholesterol down 20 points

I want everyone who is out there to know that anyone can start exercising and accomplish what they set their mind to.  When I started the Couch to 5K program I was very sedentary and didn’t exercise at all.  I knew I needed to do something so I started small.  Just getting out an walking on a regular basis is a great first step.  The Couch to 5K program is great because it eases you in to running.  The main thing is to just keep at it.  There were plenty of days where I didn’t want to get up before the sun and get out and run but I did it anyways.  Knowing I had signed up, paid for and committed myself to a race helped.  One question I’ve got from others is “are you going to keep running?”  For me the 5K was a bucket list type thing and I’m not so certain I’ll keep running.  It tends to wreak more havoc on my back and knees than I’d like but I do plan to keep exercising.  The bi-product of this training has been losing weight and getting in better physical health.  So in short, get out there, exercise, and have fun doing it!  At the risk of sounding cliche, if I can do it anyone can!

 

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