Reflecting on My First 5K Race

About two weeks ago I jogged past a giant digital timer perched on the side of the road. It sat squarely in the grass and marked the finish line to my first 5K race.

I don’t have the exact time that I finished because it wasn’t a chipped event but the last I looked, the numbers read close to 42 minutes and 30-something seconds.

After I finished the race, I knew I wanted to write about it.

The thing is, I was so overwhelmed with emotions, I didn’t want to start typing while all of those feelings were bouncing around.

Now that I’m finally ready to write, I don’t have a whole lot to say, haha.

I suppose the big takeaway is that I’m glad I committed and finished the race.

I’m proud of myself and I was happy my partner was there to support me!

I never thought I’d run a 5K

I spent a lot of my life thinking I’d never be a runner and that I’d be stuck with a bad knee forever. Long story short, I was in a car accident in 2014 that injured my knee and my back.

After the crash, I did a lot of physical therapy to try to fix it.

In addition to physical therapy, I also went to see a chiropractor, did a few sessions of acupuncture, and had three epidural shots.

Nothing seemed to help so I figured running was never going to be a part of my life.

What made me commit to the race

The truth is, I probably wouldn’t have thought about competing in a 5K if it weren’t for my brother.

He also has a bad knee (not car crash related), but he started to rehab it and did his first 5K race a few months back.

It made me think, if he can rehab his knee, what about me?

Maybe, for some reason, my knee wasn’t ready back then, but what about now?

So, I committed to a self-prescribed rehab program. It included regular walking, stretching, and yoga sessions.

Back to the basics!

All of that helped me ease into jogging the length of a block in my neighborhood (about 500 ft), then two blocks.

Eventually, I started the Just Run: Zero to 5K program. At the end of it, I felt confident and healthy enough to sign up for a race!

What I’m doing now

Going on walks, doing yoga sessions, and stretching continue to be a part of my weekly routine.

My knee isn’t back to 100% and I don’t know if it ever will be but I’ve gotten reacquainted with it enough to know the difference between a normal training ache and a bad ache.

A bad ache usually only comes around if I’ve neglected walking, yoga, or stretching!

My back also seems to be behaving as long as I make sure to take breaks from sitting at my desk. I work from home so I gotta remember to get up and move if I’ve been sitting for a while.

As far as racing goes, I don’t have my sights set on anything in the near future but I know I want to compete in one again.

Preferably, I’d like to sign up for an event where the runner’s bibs are chipped so I can get an accurate reading of my time.

And also, I’d like to avoid racing in one during the Summer, haha.

Until that day, I’ll keep on with my routine and take it one day at a time.

Oh yeah, one more thing.

I’m on Strava. If you have an account, feel free to follow me!