In the latest edition of the together-but-separate blog postings, Amy and I are writing about our first athletic achievements. I started thinking about my first running accomplishments recently during a discussion with Heather about how to begin running. I remember the first time I ran a mile - it felt so amazing and accomplished! My first 5K was a similar feeling.
A memory
I’m a treadmill runner, but I like to try new things. So a couple of years ago when a former colleague, Elizabeth, asked me if I’d like to run the Great Pumpkin 5K with her in Rock Hill, I agreed wholeheartedly. Elizabeth is a lot more athletic than me, but I figured she could either push me to run faster or leave me in the dust at the start line, either of which would be OK.
I was running about 10-minute miles at the time, on the treadmill with no incline, so I knew the outside run would be a challenge. My goal was to finish the race in around 30 minutes, and to try not to walk any – to run the entire time. Nothing huge here – it was my first race, after all.
The day of the race came and I was so pleasantly surprised at all the positive energy! It was early in the morning – especially for me, a night person – but people were cheerful and dressed up (some even as pumpkins!) and excited.
We packed in like sardines at the start line – and the beginning of the race was slow moving. We were practically walking. But eventually it thinned out and Elizabeth and I kept a strong pace. We rounded the first mile together, at 9 minutes. At the 1.5 mile mark, there was a water station. She, a seasoned race pro, was able to run and drink at the same time. I however, not so coordinated. I walked for a minute with my water, knowing I was dropping behind her but I was OK with it.
However, after walking for a second I could see Elizabeth, not too far ahead of me, and I decided to catch her. I sprinted until I was beside her, back on track. She looked over at me, impressed. “Wow!” she said. I smiled, and then about 10 paces later I realized that wasn’t so smart. Now I was out of breath and needed a walk break again.
The rest of the race I kept a run/walk pace. I was disappointed in myself for not having run the whole way, but I did finish at about 31 minutes – an entire 5 minutes behind Elizabeth. I wasn’t unhappy with the time considering the amount of walking I had done.
The best part? After the race, she looked over at me: “Want to go to spinning?”
“Sure!” I answered, and so we went. To the gym, the first row of bikes, wearing our race numbers during cycle class. We felt hard core.
Read about Amy’s first athletic accomplishment here.
Wow!! 5K and then spinning??? Hard core indeed.
Last blog post from Amy – Set and Spike
[...] Melissa and I are continuing to write on topics. Today’s is about our first athletic milestone. [...]
Great story! I remember my first judo win; It definitely inspired me to do more and work harder.
ahh, I remember the first time firing a fully automatic weapon. It was very Zen.
Finishing my first Couch to 5k workout was a great feeling (and finishing week 1 an even better feeling), but I think Muay Thai was a bigger rush, especially the first time I got praise from the instructor.
One fine day, maybe I will do a run with you!
Last blog post from Heather – Writer’s Blockhead