Small Victories - Good 5k
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| Mon, 05-22-2006 - 1:55pm |
Sunday was the For Women Only 5k 2006. I participated in this event last year and had such a good time I decided then that I would do it again.
This year the weather was much the same, except it was clear instead of cloudy, maybe a bit more windy. Still the temps were nearly exactly what they were last year, mid to upper 40s. There were more people this year too. I think they said last year there were just over 800. This year there were over 1,000 women and girls. There seemed to be more kids from the Girls on the Run, the charitable partner for the race, this year too. It was a pretty good turn out. One cool thing about this year was that DH was there with me when I checked in and got my number and tiiming chip. He did sit in the car since it was chilly. He loves newspapers, so he read. Although he wasn't officially at the finish line, he did see me cross it from the car, good enough for now.
My goal was to do better than last year, of course, but by about five minutes. I heard a time mentioned when I crossed the finish line, but I wasn't sure what the official time was. The time I had heard was about 3 1/2 minutes better than last year's time. So when I got in to work this morning, I checked the website. My time was actually 7 1/2 minutes better than last year. I was so excited. I am not fast by any means, but it was so cool that the work paid off and I was able to run - well jog - more of it than I thought I would be for the lack of practice.
This was only my second 5k, so I am not expecting that dramatic of an improvement next time. Now it will be in smaller steps, but I'm so excited. Now I have to keep working at it. I was about to give up on trying to run.
If my mom can have her other knee surgery, she could walk next year, with my 13 yo sister (she's a thin, beautiful fan of old movies, definitely not a jock) and my 16 yo sister and I could run it. I hope I can convince them of that. My 16 yo sister wanted to this year, but it didn't work out logistically. If you've ever thought about entering an event like this, ladies, go for it. You'd be amazed at what a great experience it is in so many ways.

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Congratulations!!
Thanks, ladies. It is so motivating to have the goal that having entered an event provides. And it's just cool to achieve a goal too. Like Miranda said, even walking in an event like that is a good thing.
I'm not really much of a runner either, but I think I may become one, especially now that I see some progress. I admire people who really run too, both the fast like those who had the times around six minute miles and those who can run for a long period of time. It's so different from our workouts in HKD. While the martial art has given me so much, this gives me a chance to be alone with my thoughts and to set my own personal goals.