My first 5K

Well gang, I finally did it. I ran a 5K. Some of you might know that I've been training to lose weight and participate in some charity bike rides. But I was challenged by someone at work, to whom the cause (colon cancer), was quite important. Being the supportive friend I am, I eagerly accepted the offer. In fact, my father also joined in on the fun. Shirley and Naiden were there too, but didn't have near as much fun. More on that later.

The air was a little brisk and the wind was a little more so than anyone in this house expected. It was in the low to mid 40s, but the wind...the wind would not be denied. So we dressed our little guy appropriately, or so we thought and headed to the course. We got there early so we could register, but found ourselves with a lot of free time while waiting for things to happen. And they finally did. The gun went off, and we launched out on our first 5K.

Things were actually going very well. I was walking beside Shirley who was pushing the stroller with Naiden, his diaper bag and a few bottles of water and some snacks. We are not big time walkers, but we have put on many miles before and 5K, while something we've never done as an event was a distance we had covered in the past quite handily. Thinking that all was well, Shirley gave me the go ahead to jog ahead if I'd like. So I did. Shortly after that, her problems began.

The course map for the event listed it as being a residential neighborhood with a few slight hills. What it did not say was that was only the first half mile. Breaking away from my wife and son, I was the first of us to see what would become a major problem: the first big hill. It was tough, but I did manage to walk up it, and I was sure that Shirley and Naiden would manage it as well. And they did. However, remember the wind and the cold I mentioned? Well, about the time they got to that hill, both became a little too much for Naiden. Even though we had a blanket wrapped around him in the stroller, we had thought winter was over and forgot to bring his mittens. He was getting cold and restless in the stroller. So Shirley did the only thing she could and that was spring him from the stroller and let him walk behind. That worked until he wanted picked up. So she was carrying him and trying to push the stroller at the same time. Me, being the bad husband I am, was probably a quarter mile away and didn't know anything about her plight.

After the race, Dad and I went back to find Shirley and she was even behind the trailing vehicle. Crying and carrying a fussy toddler, she promised she would never do this again. So we got everyone back to the shelter and had some food. She never officially finished the race, since she didn't cross the line, but after some time to cool down, we made some ground rules. 1) She would only do another 5K if it was flat. 2) If a course map was not available, we would drive around the area to determine if she wanted to do the race. 3) I would stay with her if she was pushing the stroller. (truth be told, I probably would have finished in about the same time if we had stuck together) In the end, she didn't hate the 5K, or me, it was more a function of the cold, the wind and the slightly flat course we had to navigate that soured her first experience. The weather, combined with our lack of preparation and the shifting temperament of a 20 month old made for a bad first race, but now we know the kinds of things that can go wrong and have built another checklist for the next time.

How did we do? Well, my time was 46:12. Not bad for my first 5K and doing no training outside of cycling. My friend that got me into this mess in the first place was 15 minutes ahead of me at 31:28. Father was only 2 minutes ahead of my at 44:10. And the 86 year old lady was only 45 seconds faster than me! I came in 145/213 overall and 6/9 in my age group.

I was sore the next day...and the day after that....and even into the next day. The pounding of the road, even with brand new running shoes was something this old body hadn't felt in a long time. So I've incorporated running into my workouts in hopes to build my endurance for the long bike tour as well as compete in a few more 5Ks throughout the year. Besides, maybe it will help me lose some of that back fat.