I decided a couple of years ago to try the Couch to 5k plan. I stuck with it for a while but to be honest, I half assed it most of the time and I never finished. I came to the conclusion that running was not for me. But I continued reading the blogs that I had always read and most of them are either food blogs or running blogs. If you read about running every day, it makes you want to run. A little over a year ago I decided to sign up for a 5k and I was going to run it no matter what. The race I signed up for happened to be our town's Turkey Trot. It was a fun run so it was not chip timed and no results were posted online but there was a clock at the end so I did know my time. I finished in 31:15. The fact that I actually finished was enough for me but I was really proud of my time. For a few weeks after, I didn't run at all. Then I decided to run here and there on the treadmill over the winter. Nothing too crazy.
Summer came and I thought....I am signing up for the 5k that happens on the weekend of our town celebration which was in August. So I ran. I soon learned that I enjoyed running outside much more than inside and I could go further in my training runs because I wasn't so bored staring at the clock on the dreadmill. Tristen, my 10 year old son, decided he wanted to run with me too. He is not a runner but is a very athletic kid. A couple of weeks before the race I told him that he better start running with me to see what it is going to be like and to get some miles under his belt. I believe he ran with me 3 times and never over 2 miles. Each time we stopped to walk half a dozen times at his request. Race day was upon us and I told him to push through it as much as he could and to let me know when he needed to stop. We stayed at a nice, easy pace and to my surprise, he ran the entire thing. We finished in 31:20. I was such a proud mom! As we talked about the race, he said that he could have gone faster but thought he better stick with me. Drats! I could have gone faster too but was trying to pace him. Oh well! Next time!
My next race was in October. I continued to train but I didn't push myself too hard. Most of my runs were around 2.5 miles with the occasional 3 mile run here and there. That one I finished in 30:10. After I saw my time, I wished I had pushed myself just a tad bit hard to get under the 30 mark. Again...next time! Shortly after this race, I signed up for a 7k. This race is happening in March. I have a lot of time but it has been on my mind and I wanted to prove to myself that I could run that far in hopes of easing my mind a little. I decided to start increasing my mileage. I had a 3.35 mile run about a month ago but then went back in to my comfort zone of 2.5 - 3 mile runs.
Well things have changed. Last week I decided to increase my mileage again and I am so excited to show you what I have done. Now I have to warn you, I am not fast. But the mileage is what is exciting to me right now. I will work on speed next.
~Jessica
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