The Challenge at the Highlands 5k

Disclaimer: I am not a licensed medical doctor or counselor. All of my posts are from my own personal experiences in the areas of my own health and wellness.  My posts are meant to inspire you in your health journey, but do not qualify for professional medical advice or diagnosis. Please consult a licensed medical professional or counselor. I cannot be personally held responsible for any advice you take from my blog postings and implement into your life without consulting a medical professional first. 

Going into the summer season my friends and I signed up for three 5K’s to run. The main one we signed up and was training for was the Highlands Twilight 5K on August 19th. My friends and I really wanted to make it an all out event, so we ordered jersey’s and planned to make a girls weekend out of it.

Pre-Race with the girls and “Tate”

Going into the race I had completed two 5K’s prior. You can read about my first one in my “5K in a Decade” post. I wasn’t able to write about my second 5K a few weeks later, due to the busy life I was living at the time. More to come on this in my 6 Month post! To put it in a nutshell though my second 5k was disappointing and painful. My time was slower than my previous race, and I felt like I ran harder than I did in my first 5K. I also really cramped up in the last ¼ of a mile, and after crossing the finish line I had to keep walking for a good 20 minutes so that my quads wouldn’t spase out. I also got REALLY sick feeling after the race. So going into the Highlands 5K I was already doubting my potential to do well in the race and hit my time goal. After seeing the course and all the hills I would have to run I doubted myself even more.

Physically going into the race I felt pretty strong, but around three days before race day my knee started acting up, because great timing you know. Mentally I felt pretty good until again I saw the course. I had been training since March for this race and I was far from where I wanted to be, on so many levels. Around an hour until race time when the girls and I were discussing our goals for the race, my answer was simple. “I just want to enjoy it.”  

At the 1 Mile mark!

“Sometimes it is hard to enjoy things in life, especially things that bring you challenge and pain. I knew that the course was going to be challenging to my muscles, the heat would slowly drain my energy, and I knew if I would have set an unrealistic expectation and not meet the time goal I originally wanted I would beat myself up about it.”

Most people who know me know that I am my biggest critic. I am confident in many areas of my life, but I have a serious fear of failure and disappointing people.  When I disappoint someone I will beat myself up about it for weeks, especially if the person I disappoint is myself.

During the race I kept reminding myself that this was for fun, that I was strong, and to trust my training. I had to talk myself out of stopping more than once, especially during the uphill parts of the course. However, all I thought about was how disappointed in myself I would be if I were to stop. How disappointed my friends would be. So I made the conscious decision to keep running, however fast or slow that was, and to power up those hills and CHARGE.

You see giving up due to the fear of not getting a good time and walking would have been far more disappointing than to keep running and having a slower time recorded for the race. It is the same thing in life.

“When hit with a hill or challenge you have to make a choice. You can choose to let that challenge defeat you or you can let it make you stronger. “

Powering up those hills was no easy challenge! We were in blistering heat and the hills were long and in the middle of the race. All I thought to myself is “what goes up must come down.” I knew that the downhill part would feel great and give me a little bit of rest to a degree.

For the last half mile I knew I wasn’t going to meet my time goal for sure. That I would be lucky to even match my time from my previous 5K, so all I said to myself is “I am a work of progress.”

I am a work of progress because my story is still being written. I am still developing as a runner. I am still growing as a person inside and out. I still have inner demons and voices to overcome, especially during a race. However I am trying and challenging myself to change, and that is honestly all that matters is that we try.

When I crossed the finish line I had great sense of accomplishment. My time was not where I wanted it to be but I pushed myself really hard physically. It was the first time I almost could have  gotten sick after a race. TMI, I know, but our cross country coach always said “if you don’t get sick (or get close) you didn’t push yourself hard enough.” So I know I gave the race my best effort even though my time said otherwise.

When they handed out awards I knew without a shout of a doubt I didn’t win anything in our age group. I knew my friend Megan and Creeden probably did because they are both great athletes and competitors. I on the other hand am just happy finishing the race haha. It was much to my surprise that when they got to our age group that they called out my name for 3rd place! Megan also got first and Creeden got second!

I was SHOCKED!!!! I couldn’t believe it! I was seriously on cloud 9! I have only won one athletic award in my life and it was MVP for Basketball Cheerleading my senior year in high school. I never won any running awards. To say I was “high off placing” would be an understatement.

I thought about how hard I was on myself at the beginning of the race, how during the race I debated more than once about stopping, how as hard as it was I pushed through and reached the top of those hills. Even though I didn’t necessarily get the time I wanted I walked away with satisfaction knowing I gave it my best effort regardless of how many challenges the race held.

So what is the big take away from all of this? What is the significance of me sharing this experience?

For me it shows that challenges and curveballs come. Life is not a smooth ride. Life is supposed to have up and down moments. Moments that are going to challenge you into becoming a better and stronger version of yourself, much like the Highlands 5k did for me as a runner. It is during those hard moments in life that we are shaped into better versions of ourselves. We are changed and transformed. However, we have to decide to face the challenge life is giving us. To learn and to grow from it, even if we don’t feel ready. Hopefully, we make the right choice and we are rewarded with satisfaction, or in this case a nice handmade coffee mug.

Always,