This past Saturday I tackled what I’ve been training for since Easter. I ran my first 5K. It was harder than I thought it would be, we’ve been running 2 miles with ease. I thought I would be able to just knock the last mile out. I was wrong. I got through mile 1 no problems, then I saw the mile 2 sign, it hit me, the big mental wall. My body told me that it was time to stop because 2 miles is where we stop. I tried fighting through it, but I was just stopped. If Vaden hadn’t been there to push me the last mile I wouldn’t have made it. My entire life I’ve played team sports, if you failed somebody else was always there to pick you up. In running it’s all you against the clock. I’m struggling with that, I’ve never had to break through the mental wall. I learned valuable lessons for my next 5K. I had set a goal of 36 minutes, but I finished in 39. I was really disappointed in myself at first, but I shouldn’t be. On Good Friday I couldn’t jog to the end of our street without wanting to die. Today I ran 3.1 miles.
After the race I started thinking about why I’m tackling this whole process. I don’t want to go be the fastest person out there. I don’t want to have the perfect runners body. I want to be able to, in 15 years, play with my kids and nephews, Camden and Jakob. I want to be the uncle that is able to still run with them at 45 years old. My Uncle Ugly died at 45 years old, when I think about that being only 14 years from now it hits me that everything I’m doing today will pay off in the future. I may never win a 5K, I may never finish in the top 10, I will do everything I can to make sure I see Jakob, Camden and my kids graduate, get married, and have kids. I’ll run another 5K soon, a 10K in the spring, and tough mudder next winter. I’ll run them for my family not for myself!
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