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Happy Saturday, friends!
This morning I’ll be running a 5k with two of my teen clients. I’m pretty excited for them, as they’ve been working really hard to prepare for this race. I’ll be with them the whole way. Well, hopefully I’ll be ahead of them – but I don’t know – they’re one third my age!
Many of my clients tend to set 5k goals for themselves…whether it be walking their first or running to beat their PR, it’s a pretty common way to stay motivated. I remember my 1st 5k. It was back in college, La Crosse, Wisconsin. The 5k was to raise money for MS, and I ran for the “Eddie Bauer” team, since my sister was a manager there. I finished around 26 minutes, and I was quite sick. Almost didn’t go. But hey, if we wait to feel good to exercise, we’d probably never do it!
The best 5k I ever did was in Albuquerque, New Mexico a few years ago. Get this: The whole thing was downhill! I felt like I had wings running down that hill to the casino, and finished with my best time ever (big surprise)! Why can’t all races be that easy?
James does one 5k with me a year…a Thanksgiving Turkey Trot wherever we happen to be RVing that year. He does it right, by training for it 8 weeks prior and slowly building up. Even though he has amazing cardio from all his biking, the impact of running is highly stressful on the joints, so training slowly and safely is, well, smartly. I’ve come to enjoy our Thanksgiving tradition…running then stuffing. Takes some of the guilt out of the annual overindulgencefest.
What about you? What sort of fitness goals motivate you?
Okay my Nike’s are on and I’m headed to the 5k. Fingers crossed for my girls!
UPDATE: We finished, and all with great times! Check out the photo above. Jess, on the right, took first in her age group and Rachel, on the left, took 8th. Congratulations girls!
Hi Stef,
I really like your site. A lot of fun tips. I enjoyed your story about the girls running the 5K and am looking forward to mine on May 11. I couldn’t do it without your class.