It’s
official. I have registered for my first 5K! With frigid temps and mounds of snow (falling what seems to be constantly) it's hard to really want to get out of the house and push myself. But I knew I wanted to set a time limit on my first goal of running a 5K and with spring just around the corner (...maybe) I figured now would be a good time to buckle down and pick a race. But I knew there was something that I needed to really push me so I took a lesson from one of my favorites, Mary Poppins.
With every job that must be done, there is an element of fun:
I called upon my dear friend Belle from her palace in Ann Arbor and my UNBELIEVABLY AWESOME mother, aunt and cousins from the far away,mystical kingdom of Indiana (I have yet to come up with character names for you ladies so bare with me.) Having buddy system in place not only makes the race, and working out in general, more bearable but also is a great way not to back out because others are depending on you and keeping you motivated.
I also wanted to pick a race that had something more too it than just running for the sake of running. Through social media I have learned of the color run, the foam run, Warrior Dash, the Tough Mudder and countless others. Having something to run FOR or TOWARDS makes the experience more than just about your personal goals and aspirations but allows you to get the ability to share something worthwhile.
A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down:
The race I eventually stumbled upon was the Cocoa Classic. The
Cocoa Classic will take place April 6th in downtown Detroit. The
event is both a 5K and a half marathon (sorry… not there yet folks!) What’s the
best part? When you finish there is hot cocoa and a chocolate fondue fountain
waiting to warm you up and celebrate! Check out more details at The Cocoa Classic!
If there is anything that I took from Mary is that life is what you make of it. You can spend night after night getting bored of the same old workout routine or you can add variety. Run a race. Take a class. Play a sport. Anything to make working out less of a chore and more like something you find to be practically perfect in every way.
HI Erin! I'm Anne from http://gocavegirl.blogspot.com/. I'm signed up to run the cocoa classic too! I've run several 5Ks but I'm still not fast. Maybe I'll see you there! Good luck!
ReplyDeleteThat's awesome Anne!! I'm sure you are much faster than I am!
DeleteGood luck with your 5K! I'm working my way up to running my first 5k. I should be ready by the summertime, and plan to run with my co-worker.
ReplyDeleteGood luck! I hope to do a 5k in late spring, early summer!
ReplyDeleteHi Erin, I too decided to do this 5K in April. It is my motivation to work out on a regular so that I don't passout halfway thru. Good luck!!
ReplyDeleteRunning a 5K is a great goal, I actually ran my first (and only) back in July of 2011 with my (then friend) brother in law doing the Warrior Dash (a 5K obstacle course). I then trained and ran Tough Mudder the following year in April in Ohio, but after jumping into the Buckeye Quarry when it was 35 degrees, I was only able to accomplish 11 of the 13 miles and had to give up due to hypothermia.
ReplyDeleteTrust me when I say that especially when you're just starting out, the buddy system is a KEY to success. It worked for the Warrior Dash (3 of us ran it, topping the combined scales at over 900 lbs between the three of us, and 1250 lbs with the fourth we picked up there) it was a fun, exciting, and self motivating experience.
Do not matter your time, your goal isn't to finish in time, your goal is to accomplish the 5K. If you continue to run, time will come later!
Good luck next month!