My 5k Struggle and a Fitness Update

*(My husband and I at the Chickamauga Marathon 5k. He won second place in his division, and I won third in mine.)*

Oh, what an interesting week it has been! I have definitely had a few ups and downs physically, and I wanted to share them with you today. I ran in my ‘biggest’ 5k to date, and dealt with not feeling the best.

First of all, I hope I don’t sound silly. I know that to many people, running a 5k isn’t too difficult. But to me, it is a big accomplishment. I am someone who used to hate running, and only took it up because it was something I could do inexpensively with no equipment. When I was younger, I did everything I could to avoid it!

But now, I really do enjoy it. I have been running for about 1.5 years, and now can run for about an hour at an easy pace without feeling winded. I have been able to increase my speed slowly over this time frame, and went from running 36:30 to 28:51 at the 3.1 mile (5k) distance.

After actually coming in second in my age group in early October, I decided to increase my training. I purchased actual running shoes, instead of wearing the $20 children’s pair that I picked up with a coupon at Academy Sports.

For about one month, everything went smoothly. And then my husband and I began running at a park on Sundays. Boy, were these runs difficult for me! My problem was that instead of going at my fast pace, I was trying to keep up with my husband. I ended up feeling terrible for the rest of the day.

Running didn’t feel as fun anymore, and then one week before our next race I knocked myself silly on our canopy bed. It has a rustic frame, and I wasn’t paying attention and ran smack into a limb which was hanging off the side. It was actually kind of funny, but it gave me a terrible headache that I couldn’t shake for several days.

The day before the race, I was worried by how I felt. Now, I know I could have slowed down, but I really wanted to see if I could improve my time. I gave it all that I had. And, oh the hills! There were so many hills. But in the end, I finished at 28:51, which was better than my previous month’s race finish at 29:48. I was so happy with it! I also placed third in my division.

But friends, I felt terrible during the last leg. I really want to continue improving my time and fitness level, but I think I’m going to stop trying to keep up with my husband! It pushes me for sure, but I want running to be something that I enjoy and want to do, if that makes sense.

I also want running to feel “easy” to me at an even faster speed. Some people my age (42) and older are much faster than me, and they make it look effortless. I guess it just takes time and determination.

We are signed up for one more race this year, which is on Thanksgiving. Our children are joining us for the fun run as well! That course is pretty flat, so I think I will feel much better while running it. Oh, and headphones are allowed. Music is distracting to me and I like to listen to it while I run.

I can’t tell you what a blessing it is to share this hobby with my husband. I hope we are showing our children that fitness is important by our actions.

So, I guess this is a little “fitness update” for y’all. I am continuing to increase my fitness level, but have felt like I’m dying while doing so, ha! I may be nuts, but I am eyeing a half marathon in March. If I do sign up for that, it would be purely to make it over that finish line.

Thank you so much for stopping by my blog today, friends. I hope your day is blessed!