Motivation Monday- Sarah

My first 5K was on February 27, 2011. Before running the race, I honestly thought that it would be my first and only 5k. But something happened to me…I got HIGH from RUNNING. Me…high from running!

I almost immediately signed up for my second 5K. The social worker in me loves participating in anything that benefits a population I am passionate about. So, when I found the Special Olympics Broadway Bridge Run (in Kansas City), I gave them my money and started training. Since this was only my second 5K, I didn’t expect to be able to run the whole thing yet. My fiancé also signed up for this run with me. We work out together. We definitely are keeping each other motivated.

Again, I didn’t follow any specific training program. I start out by running for as long as I can. I then take a 2 minute “walk break” and then run for 2 minutes, walk for 2 minutes, rinse and repeat. It seems to work for me, but I’d definitely encourage a structured plan. Part of my problem is that I’m a part-time grad school, have a full-time job, am planning my June wedding and planning a move half-way across the country in July. I’m a busy girl. I have a lot of structure in my life. So running…gets done as I see it. I tried to work out 4 days a week, but often it was only 3 days a week.

April 10th was race day! I was pumped. A little nervous, as I had set a goal for myself to beat my time at my first 5K. The first 5K I participated in, I finished in 43 minutes. I didn’t think that was a bad time, considering I was still about 50 pounds overweight and didn’t train a whole lot. I was a little over 10 pounds lighter for the run on April 10th and had been training. I was hoping to finish the race under 40 and I *almost* made that. I finished the race in 40:40.

My most recent race this past weekend on April 30th was my biggest success yet. I finished in 35:38. This was a FIVE minute improvement from just a few weeks ago. I also won first place in my age group, which was an even bigger shock for me. My fiance, who has also been training, improved his time by 12 minutes. Needless to say, we are both pretty proud of ourselves.

So far, I am only signed up for one more 5K this year on May 22nd. I want to sign up for more. I am planning a move to New Jersey this summer, so I hope that once my new husband and I Have settled, I can sign up for at least one more. I do have goals for these races, of course. And I do hope that I can fit more of a structured training program. These races will probably be my last two this year, as I have so much coming up in the next few months. But I do plan to still work out and get these last 40 pounds off of my body. If you need help with your “diet”, I highly recommend Weight Watchers. I have lost 21 pounds since January. It’s teaching me healthy living and for the first time in a long time, I feel healthy. And I look healthy.