I came in 2nd place at the 5k!
Saturday was the big day – the 5k Veterans Run. The best part was running with my son, Henry, who is part of JROTC. I told him to run ahead (he’s way faster than me) and I’d see him at the finish line… eventually.
The last time I ran a 5k was pre-pandemic, and my body reminded me of that fact every step. My goal was to run the full 3.1 miles without stopping and/or injuring myself. I was haunted by the memory of the half marathon I trained for and had to drop out two weeks before because I pulled my calf muscle and could barely walk.
This time around, I took things slower. I started with a run/walk in September and did that fairly consistently three times per week until I could run 4 miles. After every run/walk I did a 7-minute yoga stretch video by Yoga with Adrienne, which I’ll share at the end. Two and a half months went by in a blink. And then, it was race day.
The cadets raised the flags.
Three hundred people – veterans, active duty soldier, JROTC cadets, and regular people like me – saluted the flag and gathered at the start line.
It’s always exciting those minutes spent in anticipation. Kids were egging each other on with their predictions. “I’ll run a 7-minute mile.”
For context, I tend to run at the speed of walking. In September I ran about a 15-minute mile. Everyone sped ahead of me, which was fine. Slow and steady finishes without calf sprains. My husband, Henri, showed up along the path several times to cheer everyone on.
The cadets decorated the run path with a mix of snarky and encouraging signs:
- You look hot! (because of sweat obv…)
- I thought this was a good idea when I registered.
- You run better than our government!
That last one was my favorite. As I kept going I noticed a lot of people who rushed out ahead were winded and started walking. There was another mom who I tried to keep pace with, but she was clearly faster.
Suddenly, my son appeared. He had finished the race and came back to run with me.
“Mom, see that kid walking? Want to run past him?”
I didn’t want to run past the kid, but the competitive streak in me did want to blow past that other mom. Picking up my pace we were neck and neck and then…
She totally smoked me. Like seriously.
But it didn’t matter because I finished after her clocking in at 35 minutes and 7 seconds! An 11.29-minute mile!
After the race, my husband videoed us.
View this post on Instagram
Then they started announcing the winners by age group. When I heard my name announced for 2nd place, I was shocked. I never won (or placed) a race in my life. There really are some benefits to getting older! Most people drop out of the race, lol.
Now I’m encouraged to train even harder for the Spartan Sprint next year. It entails running 3.1 miles with 20 obstacles in between. I’ll start posting about that training on my Instagram account @sheslosingit.lisa
Are you pursuing a fitness goal? Let me know and I’ll cheer you on.
Lisa 😉
P.S. – Here’s my story:
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