I 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:).
The 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!