5K in 5 Weeks

Green light means GO! On Friday, the doctor gave me the go ahead for running and that is exactly what I did on Saturday morning. Mike ran the Monster Half Marathon which started early and was a point to point race. The finish line of his race was the start line of my race which started late morning. While I was trying to find him, I ran into Julie who had just finished her half marathon. Julie is a special person because she is just as beautiful on the inside as she is on the outside. She cares about everyone she meets and always has a smile. It was great to see her again in person. 

As the crowd started moving across the start line for the 5K, Mike and I found each other and we moved ahead with the pack. My plan was to jog and walk as needed. Good thing I hadn’t counted on running fast because that would have been impossible at this race. It was a zoo. There was no attempt by the race organizers to record finishing times. There were too many people and it was very chaotic. It was fun to look at all of the costumes and it was a beautiful sunny day. I wouldn’t do this race again, though, as it was just too many people.

That being said, I loved every minute of it! It felt strange to run for the first mile, but I felt pretty normal for the next two miles. My heart rate was higher than it would normally be, but who cares! I ran the whole way and couldn’t have been happier. I ran slowly but by the end I wished the race had been longer. The race was short at only 3 miles. My splits were 10:57, 10:15, and 10:07. Not too shabby for someone who had a couple of body parts lopped off and hasn’t run in 5 weeks. I’m not ashamed to say that I spent the rest of the day smiling about those three miles.

The best part of the race was running the whole way with Mike. He has been my cheerleader, caretaker, and voice of reason throughout this whole ordeal. Over the 20 years of our marriage, he has been the patient and optimistic voice in our relationship. I feel like I’ve learned something from him and tried to maintain that patient, optimistic mindset since that phone call on September 9th. It has made all of the difference. Running this race feels like turning the page in a book. I’m ready to move on to the next chapter.