At the start line — definitely feeling a bit of consternation!

Crossing the finish line. I’ve never done that before!

I did my very first 5K today in 56:29.  That’s not even close to the time I wanted for my first 5K — I was hoping for like 45 minutes or less.  But I also expected to be running in the cold, not in the first big snowstorm of the season.  There were wet roads (runnable), there were slushy brick roads (runnable), there were neighborhood streets that hadn’t been plowed in a while (mostly runnable), and then there was the I & M Canal trail — with a good 5 inches of snow on it.  I tried to run it, truly, but it was like when I trained for my Grand Canyon hike at the Dunes.  Like running in sand.  I called it the “polar” opposite of the Warrior Dash 🙂  But I finished it, so I don’t really care how “slow” my time was.  I also ended up getting a medal (2nd place in my women’s age group — and yes, there were only 2 women in my age group LOL).  The next 5K I run, I will do so much better — and I’ll likely be able to say I shaved 15 minutes off my previous time!!!!!!!  I would also be remiss if I forgot to say that I am more grateful than anyone realizes to some pretty kick-ass cheerleaders — my husband for being so encouraging through everything; my friend Emily who has ridiculously blind faith in all of my abilities; my colleagues Ted and Katie who are real runners but they waited in the cold and snow for me to cross that finish line — I am humbled!  And my buddy Ron who was pleasantly surprised to discover I was out there running in the snow, and actually sent Emily out to check on me when he was worried I was taking too long ❤ ❤ ❤  I may not have actually “run” my first 5K, but I had so much fun!!!!!!!

With Katie and Ted, proudly wearing our medals!