There is something very satisfying about completing a goal. Back in the Spring I started trying to prepare for a 5K run. I was starting from a very low point as far as fitness is concerned and the goal seemed so far out of reach as to be laughable. The training didn't always go in a smooth line either with bumps along the way and setbacks. However, on September 19, 2009 I ran a 5K in a local race called the Salmon Run. I ran it in a couple seconds over 40 minutes. I was dead last in my age group and very near the end overall but I did complete it.
It was an early morning run as these things seem to tend to be and my wife and her friend were running in the 10K just before me. I experienced some trouble in keeping a steady pace with all the other runners going by and had to stop and walk a couple times. I was feeling pretty disgusted with myself until the end when I discovered that my time was about what it would normally be if I had kept my normal pace that I do on the track that I train on. I could do without the well wishers along the way but I suppose I prefer them to hecklers. The next day a Brother from church told me that he had seen me in the race. This has turned out to be the best feedback and most encouraging comment of any at all mostly based on its unsolicited nature.
I am moving forward with my run training and trying to increase distance to an 8K which really doesn't represent a race as much as just an intermediate distance on the way to 10K. I can't say that I have caught any kind of bug for running as I still dislike it; I do however like the increased health and fitness that I get from the training.
Cheryl and Jillian after the run.
