5k

Some people would say they are most afraid of dying.

Or snakes.

Or public speaking.

For me it was running.

It's been an anxiety-inducing activity ever since middle school.

Yesterday I ran my first 5k race.

I've been training for about 3 months and when I first started, I could only run .25 miles.

In my recent training I'd been running a 12 min/mile pace.

My goal was to finish the 5k in 36 minutes.

Saturday morning came and my nerves were out of control.

The race started at 9:00 and when we left the house at 8 it was 45 degrees outside.

This race was a WSU sponsored event called the Pumpkin Run. Last year there were 600+ people. Participants are encouraged to wear costumes. My favorites were a father and son dressed up as a Curious George and The Man with the Yellow Hat.

There were also two girls dressed as jack-in-the-boxes and the back of their boxes said "Catch me if you can."

Aleks said I should pace with them and then right before the finish line, pass, push them over, and say "I caught you, now what?!"

He also encouraged me by saying, "There is no way you will be the 600th person to cross the finish line."

So at 9:00 we were off! There's something panic inducing about a mass of people running after a shot is fired from a starting pistol.

As a result I began faster than I had intended and the first mile was brutal. When I hit the mile marker an official said the time was 10:30 and I started to feel better. My suffering was not in vain!

Aleks and the girls met me along the way to cheer.

My plan was to run comfortably for the first two miles and really push through the end of the race.

And there at the finish line was my sweet husband, teary eyed, his pride so evident.

And my sweet girls, always happy to see me.

I'm so glad that they were able to watch me do this. Maybe one day we'll run a 5k together.

While there were no medals involved, I did get an awesome t-shirt!

The best part?

It glows in the dark.

Yup, you read that right.

Jealous?

You should be.

So, I've conquered a fear and it feels pretty great.

Aleks and I are going to run a 5k together on Thanksgiving day.

This time, I'm going to look forward to participating.

And warm up.