How a 5K Saved My Life

Fitness
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Addison's 1st 5KI grew up playing sports year round, but when I got to college that part of my life was no longer. All of a sudden, my activity level took a nose dive and I found myself feeling the ramifications of that. I was tired, I wasn’t making good food choices and I definitely did not know how to make my way around a gym.

I did join a gym and took some classes but never really felt like I was doing something consistently like I had when I was in sports. If you’ve done them before, you’re literally practicing or in games 5-6 times per week, sometimes twice a day. It just becomes part of your life.

So after dabbling in some classes and randomly going on the treadmill or elliptical, I decided to register for a 5K. I was really scared because it sounded so official and I had very little running experience prior to it.

I started running one to two miles a day for the next few weeks and then moved it up to three miles after that. The 5K was coming up in a couple of weeks so I started incorporating some intervals and sprints to improve endurance and recovery. I was really feeling good and enjoying the challenge.

So here comes race day. I don’t know why, but I was really nervous. I went by myself and decided I was just going to do my best and not worry about anything else. I did that, and finished first in my age group! This was a pretty small race looking back but I held that medal so proudly when I headed home:).

Fit Foodie 5KThe point is, you don’t have to be an athlete to do something like that. Just like relationships and your career, you must be growing and evolving continually. Having a program to follow is critical!

So I’m ramping up right now for the Fit Foodie 5K right here in Austin, TX. What is really fun is that I did this same 5K two years ago when Addison was a few months old and this year I’ll be pushing Elise in a jogger through it!

It does not take that long to train for it so do yourself a favor and find out what 5Ks are coming up in your area. You will feel amazing when you cross that finish line!

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