My First 5K in a Decade
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.
Yesterday, July 4th 2017, was a big day because I finished my first 5K in 10 years! For years I have trained off and on in hopes of lacing up my sneakers and actually running in a 5K event.
However, every time I would start training life would get in the way.
In High School my friends and I ran Cross Country and Track. Now, I was not a talented runner at all! I went to a 1AA High School so they were happy just to fill a roster up. However, the reason I decided to run was to hang with my friends. Why not put in a few miles everyday and stay in shape while hanging out with the girls right?!?! Now my junior year in high school, and second season of Cross Country I injured my knee. I remember doing a “Hill Thrill” workout on Deep Creek and feeling a pull in my left knee and then pain set in. Needless to say I was out most of the season after that. I ended up not running another season of Cross Country or Track, due to fear of getting re-injured or never getting back to the level I was at. When I went to the doctor to get it examined I was diagnosed with Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome.
Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome is basically an overuse injury and muscular imbalances. The top inner part of my left knee is almost completely flat which means my knee constantly shifts out with walking, standing, squatting, running, etc. My knee is always swollen on some level. During my freshmen year of college my Orthopedic Doctor told me I had to wear my knee brace all day everyday, and wear my custom orthotics. I was real trendsetter haha! I also went to physical therapy, but honestly never felt it was working my knee and muscle enough, and I continued to have knee pain. I wanted my knee to get strong and to a point where I didn’t have to wear my knee brace everyday and I could actually wear shoes without my orthodics. The fall semester of my Sophomore year of college I took a Yoga class and it transformed my life in many ways. Throughout the semester I noticed my knee pain decreasing and was able to go without wearing my knee brace or orthotics on a daily basis.
Training for this 5K was NOT easy! Lots of life happened in the months of March to July. I remember waking up one morning feeling like my knee was literally twisted inside out and was barely able to walk comfortably. My old injury had reared its ugly head! I hadn’t felt this amount of pain since I first injured it in 2007. Naturally I went into panic mode thinking that I would not be able to run in the races with my friends this summer. I knew I needed to back down on all the working out and rehab and rest it but FEAR overtook me.
When obstacles come my way I have a very stubborn mentality. I typically just suck it up and keep moving forward no matter the pain or hardship. However, throughout this year I have been trying to be more “mindful” as to what my body/mind is telling me physically, mentally, and emotionally. I am also trying to listen and not be harsh towards myself. I had a FEAR that if I kept running I was going to injure my knee for good, but I also had the FEAR that stopping my training was going to do more harm for not only my endurance at that point but my psyche as well. I was at a crossroads.
I decided to continue my running and training. I stopped doing circuit training on my days off from running, and started to just rest (this helped a lot). I started doing physical therapy moves again. I also started to ice my knee nightly and took ibuprofen on the days I ran for the first week when it was in a lot of pain. In the past two weeks I have started to strength train in hopes that building up all muscles would help me power through and give my knee, and the rest of my body, the support it needs. Now I would not recommend this approach to everyone. I know my injury and I know what I need to do to treat it. If you have an old injury, or a new injury, make sure you consult with a Doctor before continuing your training.
Before the race yesterday lots of things ran through my mind. “What if my knee starts hurting? What if my shins decide to give me a hard time? What if I am in so much pain I have to walk? We are running on pavement and I am not sure how my body is going to handle pavement.” The goal of the race was simple…DON’T STOP! Even if I had to slow down to a crawl I refused to walk in the race.
While running the race I had a lot of things float around in my mind. I thought about the physical pain and setbacks that happened during my training and how I pushed through to get myself to race day. I thought about my friends and how I wanted to make them proud. I thought about all the pain throughout the past few months, years, and life that prepared me to face the pain during the race. I thought about how even though I was a decade older since my last 5K run, I felt stronger than ever before, even if the time I ran didn’t reflect that exactly. I also thought about how this journey to a 5K for me is just a big symbol for life.
Setbacks happen, pain overtakes us, and fear can destroy us. Even though tough times happen it doesn’t mean we have to let them control our lives. We all have a choice to make. A choice to either sit back and let the tough times we are facing win, or a choice to stand up and fight back.
Sometimes you have to fight back whatever you are facing alone, but I believe having a village to hold you up makes all the difference. I am forever grateful to my village of supporters who helped me reach the goal of crossing the finish line yesterday! My group of girls who held me accountable and pushed me, especially “Coach Cree”, and my co-workers for asking me how my training was going and wishing me all the good luck wishes. Having a support system is everything when you are going through challenging times, or trying to reach a milestone in life. I certainly think if I wouldn’t have had this village I may not have made it to race day. So I encourage you to have someone who is going to push you and motivate you towards a health goal you may have. Maybe it is a good friend, family member, coworker, significant other, etc. Tell a person you trust will ask you about it on a regular basis, but will also kick you in the butt if you need some extra motivation.
Even though I crossed a “finish line,” I believe it was actually a starting line to something bigger and better. Before my race I didn’t know if I could even finish 3.1 miles, without stopping or within a time I would be proud of. However, after doing it and reaching my goal of not stopping and time goal, I feel like I will just keep climbing up from here. Especially since we have another race at the end of the month, and the big race we are all training for next month August 19th.
Here is a good quote to leave you all with!
Training for this 5K was NOT easy! Lots of life happened in the months of March to July. I remember waking up one morning feeling like my knee was literally twisted inside out and was barely able to walk comfortably. My old injury had reared its ugly head! I hadn’t felt this amount of pain since I first injured it in 2007. Naturally I went into panic mode thinking that I would not be able to run in the races with my friends this summer. I knew I needed to back down on all the working out and rehab and rest it but FEAR overtook me.
When obstacles come my way I have a very stubborn mentality. I typically just suck it up and keep moving forward no matter the pain or hardship. However, throughout this year I have been trying to be more “mindful” as to what my body/mind is telling me physically, mentally, and emotionally. I am also trying to listen and not be harsh towards myself. I had a FEAR that if I kept running I was going to injure my knee for good, but I also had the FEAR that stopping my training was going to do more harm for not only my endurance at that point but my psyche as well. I was at a crossroads.
I decided to continue my running and training. I stopped doing circuit training on my days off from running, and started to just rest (this helped a lot). I started doing physical therapy moves again. I also started to ice my knee nightly and took ibuprofen on the days I ran for the first week when it was in a lot of pain. In the past two weeks I have started to strength train in hopes that building up all muscles would help me power through and give my knee, and the rest of my body, the support it needs. Now I would not recommend this approach to everyone. I know my injury and I know what I need to do to treat it. If you have an old injury, or a new injury, make sure you consult with a Doctor before continuing your training.
Before the race yesterday lots of things ran through my mind. “What if my knee starts hurting? What if my shins decide to give me a hard time? What if I am in so much pain I have to walk? We are running on pavement and I am not sure how my body is going to handle pavement.” The goal of the race was simple…DON’T STOP! Even if I had to slow down to a crawl I refused to walk in the race.
While running the race I had a lot of things float around in my mind. I thought about the physical pain and setbacks that happened during my training and how I pushed through to get myself to race day. I thought about my friends and how I wanted to make them proud. I thought about all the pain throughout the past few months, years, and life that prepared me to face the pain during the race. I thought about how even though I was a decade older since my last 5K run, I felt stronger than ever before, even if the time I ran didn’t reflect that exactly. I also thought about how this journey to a 5K for me is just a big symbol for life.
Setbacks happen, pain overtakes us, and fear can destroy us. Even though tough times happen it doesn’t mean we have to let them control our lives. We all have a choice to make. A choice to either sit back and let the tough times we are facing win, or a choice to stand up and fight back.
Sometimes you have to fight back whatever you are facing alone, but I believe having a village to hold you up makes all the difference. I am forever grateful to my village of supporters who helped me reach the goal of crossing the finish line yesterday! My group of girls who held me accountable and pushed me, especially “Coach Cree”, and my co-workers for asking me how my training was going and wishing me all the good luck wishes. Having a support system is everything when you are going through challenging times, or trying to reach a milestone in life. I certainly think if I wouldn’t have had this village I may not have made it to race day. So I encourage you to have someone who is going to push you and motivate you towards a health goal you may have. Maybe it is a good friend, family member, coworker, significant other, etc. Tell a person you trust will ask you about it on a regular basis, but will also kick you in the butt if you need some extra motivation.
Even though I crossed a “finish line,” I believe it was actually a starting line to something bigger and better. Before my race I didn’t know if I could even finish 3.1 miles, without stopping or within a time I would be proud of. However, after doing it and reaching my goal of not stopping and time goal, I feel like I will just keep climbing up from here. Especially since we have another race at the end of the month, and the big race we are all training for next month August 19th.
Here is a good quote to leave you all with!
I hope this post was inspiring to you and maybe give you that extra motivation we all need sometimes.
Me and “the girls” pre-race!
So proud of you and your determination to do this. Happy to see you chasing goals.