My First 5K

endurance

noun |  en·dur·ance | \in-ˈdu̇r-ən(t)s, -ˈdyu̇r-, en-\

Today I ran my first 5K since my high school days when I used to be on the Cross Country Track team. GO COUGARS! I definitely set some goals for 2017 that I've been slowly achieving, one of which was to become more active and healthy. Managing three kids who are quite active themselves and being a working mom doesn't allow much time for me to achieve that goal. A little over a month ago I decided to stop making excuses for myself and just go! The Fort Lee PBA was hosting a 5K and I somehow decided that I was going to run.

I live just a few blocks from the high school track, so I bought a FitBit, a pair of Beats by Dre, and hit the track with the kids in tow. The first mile I ran was tough. My lungs were probably in shock along with the rest of my body. From then on I set a goal to run at least three days a week. I wanted to build stamina and endurance. Sometimes my kids wanted to run with me, other times they preferred to run and play on the turf inside the track. Some weeks were great, other weeks-- not so much. June has been full of so much rain. We even had a week when it was mostly dreary or wet. Not only that, but the kids have been wrapping up the school year ao it's been overwhelming at home. 

The Day Before... My foot got crushed by a big plastic bottle of orange juice in the supermarket. How grand! There I went limping and on the verge of tears from the pain. Once I got home I iced my foot and settled down. 
Race Day... I woke up ready. My foot was just a little sore, but it was manageable. I put on my breathable yoga pants, sports bra, t-shirt, laced up my sneakers, and my handy dandy Nathan's Runner's Belt that stores my phone, Driver's License, and even even comes with a small water bottle. I highly recommend it. I purchased mine at Modell's (orig. value is $29.99, but I had a $20 off coupon and only spent $10). 

The race started at 10am, but I got there just before 9am to register, pick up my bib number, check out the tables, and stretch. It was already getting pretty hot when the high school student sang The National Anthem. Shortly after runners were asked to line up at the starting line. There were over 500 participants which included both runners and walkers. I put my Beats on and started the Pitbull album on Spotify. I was talking to myself in my head the entire time. I didn't start off fast, but at a good even pace, but as I approached the 2 mile mark my body was starting to give out. If it wasn't for the music, I would have started walking after 1.5 miles. The sun was blazing and I was just trying to keep up with the woman running with the stroller who wasn't too far ahead. My only focus was not to stop. The final stretch was rough. I had a young boy right in front of me and a high school student behind me. There were way too many people at the finish line who were watching so I pushed with whatever I had left in me. I did it! My time was far from what I used to run back in the day, but I am so proud to have finished. This is definitely the first of many more to come.