Walk a Mile (or 20) in My Shoes

It’s taken me a while longer than I’d like to get this next post going.  The next challenge is a big one and I’ve actually been working on it for about a month now.  RUN A 5K.

I’ve never RUN a 5K before.  Once upon a time I did run track.  Middle-school track, if you must know, but I was a hurdler and sprinter.  The overall supervision of our track team was quite lax in my memory.  We were told to run to the high school and back — a mile, two miles?–but I really only remember mostly walking and goofing around with my fellow teammates. If there was a coach with us he had given up on motiving my group. I do remember working on getting my steps down between hurdles and practicing the relay baton hand-offs but actually getting into shape by running…not so much.

I have participated in the Hope for the Warriors races before.  My friend, Renee, and I did the 10K a couple of years ago but we really only ran the last part so that we wouldn’t finish behind someone who appeared to be pushing 70.  Classy, I know.  I do understand the need for training.  The two years that we lived in Chesapeake, VA I walked the Shamrock 1/2 Marathon and did the required training to complete it in a respectable time.  But, for this challenge I am going to run so I need a good training plan.

I identified my goal race and date (Raleigh Rock-n-Roll 5K – April 1st) and decided to use the Couch to 5K (C25K) app.  I have used that app before (sadly, briefly) so I knew that was the tool I needed.  I also reached out to my longtime friend and runner extraordinaire, Mona, to coach me along.  She’s become my nutrition mentor, my accountability partner and my overall life cheerleader.  As I work on this challenge it has made think back to a distant grade school memory of participating in a walkathon.  By my recollection, we walked to Lake Draper and back.  A 20-mile round trip.  Was that possibly an accurate memory?  We did no training, most likely walked in Keds or Fastbacks, wore no sunscreen and possibly had no water along the way.  Plus, I’m sure it was probably May in Oklahoma, which means you would have needed both sunscreen and water in large quantities. So, I asked my sister, Emilie, if I was crazy and she agreed that we had participated in walkathons but she wasn’t sure if it was a full 20 miles…maybe 17?  Well, that makes all the difference in the world.  My husband, Lee, also verified this memory. Although we didn’t know each other at the time, we could possibly have walked the same fundraiser, all sunburnt and bloody-footed, to raise pennies-0n-the-dollar for some charity.  Ah, the 1970s.

You won’t be hearing much from me about this challenge until closer to race time but I’d love to hear from you if you have any tips for me.  I have had some issues with my knees, which I haven’t before, and that makes me feel old.  I do plan on getting new running shoes so maybe, just maybe, that will help.  If you have a race planned or find this challenge a motivator to run (or walk!) a 5K yourself please let me know!  There is comfort in numbers, which is why I’ve drafted my kids to run along with me, or at least, be present to cheer me on.  And, if you have memories of participating in walkathons, do share!

Before you go…talking with Lee and Emilie about this brought back a lot of the “wonderful” 70s experiences like not wearing a seatbelt, getting paddled in school for talking and having the kind of free range childhood that seems like we were just asking to get abducted.