5K Warning!

I've been asked by about 15 people now about my 1st 5K race, which I am running on June 29 at the Livonia Spree. The question that most people ask is about my time: what time am I shooting for?

I am shooting for a finish, period. The race comes 9 weeks after I started running for fitness and weight loss. I entered this race for motivation to continue with my fitness plan, not to seriously compete. I informed the race coordinator when I signed up that my only goal was to finish, and I didn't care about my time. I've had slugs and snails passing me during my "long" runs in the last two weeks...but the point is not speed, it's fitness. I don't even know how many miles I run during any of my workouts--at this point I am using time as a guide and slowly increasing the length of time that I run as the weeks go by.

So...when the race comes and goes, I will probably post pictures, as Tom is going to bring both of our girls to cheer me on, and then we will all enjoy a pancake breakfast afterwards. (Another warning: the post-race pictures WILL be horrid. I have seen the mirror after my running workouts, and let me tell you, the results are rarely pretty!) But I will not be posting my time--not even if it is a good one. To think about the time would make me nervous or cocky, and I don't want either--I just want motivation to stick with the training.

I found a great training program for beginners in the May, 2008 issues of Runner's World magazine. I am adhering to this program fairly well. I run on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays I cross-train by doing an at-home strength training routine, it lasts about 38 minutes. Sunday is a day of rest for the body as well as the spirit. All of my weekday workouts are completed early in the morning before Tom goes to work; he takes care of the girls if they wake up before I'm finished.

So far, I have only missed two workouts, and they were both strength-training workouts. I missed the workouts due to traveling on Memorial Day weekend, but I did take my running shoes with me and was able to complete my scheduled Saturday run. I have yet to miss a running workout before the race, and I don't plan to, either.

I send thanks to all of my friends and family for their well-wishes and encouragement about my training. Please feel free to ask about the race afterwards, too--I just won't be sharing my time for personal reasons. :-)