For those of you know me personally, you know that I despise running a 5K. I am built for endurance, not for speed. Amongst my fellow runners, I am the proverbial Clydesdale, plodding along for miles, so the 5K is not my preferred distance. I mean, what's the point of a race that you finish just when you are properly getting warmed up and finding your groove?
I do love to go to running events with a group of people, though. And, I really do believe in the power of a race to build community and/or raise money for a meaningful cause. So, when I got an invite to join my cousin at the Undy 5000, I immediately registered the hubs and me for this 5K. The Undy 5000 is a race series sponsored by the Colon Cancer Alliance to raise funds and awareness for colon cancer. My cousin is a survivor and I was more than thrilled to celebrate him and do a 5K in his honor.
Yesterday, with my hometown dipping down to a chilly, breezy 38 degrees, we bundled up and headed out. Here we are huddled up before the race. The race environment is intended to be a fun-filled race with a wink because you are encouraged to wear underwear on the outside. We weren't quite that committed, but we did see some crazy costumes. One lady who wore a thong - and nothing else covering her backside. The guy who came in first ran only in a pair of whitey-tighties. Brrr!
I have been bonding with my treadmill as I discussed in my last post, so I haven't run outside since June. That meant my race strategy was to walk with the hubs and enjoy the scenery. He's not a runner, but loves a good walk. Since every single time that I have attempted this race strategy, I have ditched my husband, he wisely brought his own headphones because he predicted he wouldn't have company.
He was right. (shh! Don't tell him I said that) I used the excuse that I wanted to warm up by running and took off. Two miles later, I was still running. Three-point-one miles later, and I was still running. Not only was I still running, I was feeling great! I was having fun and vibing on the energy of the race participants. I crossed the finish line and was greeted with this image on my watch.
Nope, that's not a PR. Not even close. But that is a guarantee that I am still a runner. In this period of my life when so many things feel like they are not guaranteed, I will take that 5K and run with it.