30:37

   Early this spring, Jason and I said we were going to do a 5k this summer and that we were going to make each other train for it. Well, that didn't exactly happen. I think I may have run two or three times since April and only for 1 mile or less. But, in August I decided that I was going to run the Freedom 5k that was in 2 weeks. I had seen the run advertised at the park a few times and that Friday I just decided to do it. My reasoning was that if I never signed up for a 5k, I would never actually run. So I went and registered and thus began my two weeks of training to be able to run 3.2 miles all at once.
   Three times a week, I'd go out after taking Gunther for his run (which I rode a bicycle for) and walk about 1 1/2 miles to the park. The first time, I set my iPod to go 1 mile and then I ran, slowly as it may be, around the park for a little beyond my goal. Each time, I'd set the distance a little further, and each time, I'd make myself go beyond the goal. I had it figured out that I needed to gain a quarter of a mile with each run in order to be even close to running 3 miles in 2 weeks. Somehow, and I'm not sure how, I almost made it. My last run before the big day was 2.71 miles and for both weeks, I was averaging 12 minute miles. (That's really pathetic, by the way.) I have to say, after the first couple runs, I wondered why I was even doing it as my legs hurt a lot and my knees seemed to protest each night. But for the most part, it got somewhat better as the two weeks passed.
   The Saturday of the 5k arrived and I got up at 6am and rode my bike down to where the race was being held. I got my goodie bag of stuff and waited for the race to start. The race was to start at 8, but there was a pre-race ceremony and stuff going on. I felt kind of weird as a lot of
people were running with someone, or were in a group. But I had determined to see it thru no matter what. Finally they were ready to start and everyone herded into the starting area. And then it started. People took off running; some fast, some medium, some slow. I started down the road and just kept telling myself, "Slow and steady wins the race," over and over. And I tried to focus on my breathing and not the people passing me. About a kilometer into the run I started getting a few leg cramps, but not very bad. And at that point, I was seeing other people stop running and just walk, so I didn't feel like such a lame duck anymore. I continued running and the cramps went away and I just tried to maintain my breathing and tell myself to just keep running until the end. Don't stop.
   And I didn't stop. I managed to run the entire course and was the 167th person to finish. According to the race clock, I finished at 30 minutes, 37 seconds. When I got to that point, my legs were hurting, my head was pounding, I was dripping sweat, and all I could think was: "I never want to do this again!"

   My free t-shirt for running. (Imagine a big smiley face here!)

   After I had drank some water and walked around a while, I realized it wasn't that bad. (I do believe I sweated more than anyone else there, however.) I hung around for the awards ceremony to see if I had won a door prize - I knew I didn't win any of the running times. There were some folks there that ran it in under 20 minutes. And there was a little girl, no more then 9 years old, that was in the top 3 runners for the 15 and under age group. I thought that was impressive. Anyways, when it was all said and done, I was quite proud of myself for actually sticking with it and completing the run. And I am planning to run another 5k in both October and November. This might seem kind of crazy, but I have this goal of getting up to running a half-marathon within the next 2 years. I'm not sure that I'll ever make it to a full marathon, but the half seems more realistic. So I guess I'll continue running three times a week for a while.

   **I would just like to note that Jason had planned a climbing trip with his friends for this very same day. So after I finished the run, I went climbing with them and actually completed 3 climbs. I was pretty darn pooped and my legs and knees were complaining quite loudly by the end of the day.