Number 58 Compete in a 5K

Number 58-Compete in a 5K

I am not a runner. I do not care for the activity at all. When I was a kid, my dad was put in charge of this  military running program called Run for Your Life at Fort Benning and we all had to go out and set the example as a family - hated it!
I ran ALOT in the army because they threatened my life if I didn't but I can't imagine running just for the fun of it. Still, the list has brought me to this place so I will be a good sport about it.
When I was sick, someone else usually walked my class to and from the lunchroom, their other classes and recess be cause I could barely walk across the room. At this point, a five 5K run seemed impossible.
At the end of the year, the running club at our school holds a 5K run/2K walk. That year, I decided I would come out and walk the 1 mile part. It almost killed me! The next spring, I was feeling much better and decided to try to run the 2K in preparation for dreaded 5K. I didn't time myself or anything, I just wanted to see if my body could hold up. Here are some pictures from that race:

I did it!



 

Here I am warming up with my friend, Jen.
She is a marathon runner!

 

Stretching





 

Okay, I can see the humor in
getting lost in a race now
but at the time, I was pretty upset.

Next step:Register for a 5K.  I went for the Run for the Roses sponsored by the Alpha Chi Omega Sorority at Georgia Southern University. Results: DISASTER!! I'm ashamed to admit this but, during the race, I managed to get LOST and ended up running 6K instead of 5K (left, below). Still, made a good time (for a 6K) and finished the race without dying.



     Bad news followed. During one of the follow-up medical exams, I was told that the chemotherapy had left me with some major bone loss and that this kind of  slammity-slammity-slammity activity was ill-advised. So, I transferred to the elliptical while we worked on this medical issue. After about nine months, I was told that I had reversed the bone loss and  as of this date, I am beginning the Couch to 5K program to get ready for a 5K around the September time frame.

Stay tuned for details!

September 17, 2011-Details.

After I wrote that last post, the weather here in southeast Georgia stayed in triple digits for weeks so I pushed back my training schedule so I wouldn't...um...die. Despite this, a friend, Rob, managed to talk me into running in the 3rd Infantry Division's Top of the Rock 5K Fun Run. My goal on this day was just to finish the race and get some baseline data for improvement so I could work toward finishing a 5K in 30 minutes or less. I had exactly 30 minutes of running music in my Droid for this purpose.

So, here's the deal: I ran most of it walked some and finished in 30:14. I was feeling pretty good about myself for the first run I'd done in a year.Walking tall! Still, many suspected that the run was not really 5K. Too many people had unbelieveably good running times for 5K. I didn't want to hear this!!! After the race, we clocked it in the car. Only 3.25K. First, I run too long, now I've run too short. Can't catch a break, can I?