C25K – I’m an official graduate!

Last week I boasted that I signed up for my first official 5K on April 24. I was a little anxious to finish the C25K program by the end of April (I’d technically only made it to week 8, which was 28-minutes of running), and then Thursday night I got a call from my sister-in-law asking if I wanted to run a 5K with her while we were in Springfield for Easter.

I told her I’d pack my running gear but wouldn’t run if it was raining.

It didn’t rain. And I ran a 5K!

I didn’t know exactly how I’d do but woke up at 7 a.m. Saturday after a restless night of sleep (a little anxiety…I actually had a dream Thursday night that the race was all hills and I finished dead last). I’d barely run 2 miles Thursday night with the dog (who is a terrible running partner, btw), and the week before I boycotted running in Richmond because I hate the treadmill (but I did hit the elliptical a couple times).

Add all that together, and I had no idea how the run would go Saturday. My SIL promised me she wasn’t a fast runner and this was for charity not competition so when we started the race I was hoping to keep up with her.

When we took off, I kept her pace for about a block and then pushed ahead of her and never looked back.

I finished in just over 34 minutes. I ran the entire time. Both my best time for a 5K and the only time I’d run the entire thing.

Only 18 days until my next 5K. I’ve got one trip to Richmond and a long weekend in Mexico planned between now and then so I better get crackin’ and do some running. I would love to beat my time, although I’m not going to be disappointed if I don’t (or even do worse). The accomplishment of running 3.1 miles without stopping is reward enough for this graduate.



Thanks to my SIL for encouraging and supporting me this whole time. She's the coolest.