To 5k or not to 5k!

An email showed up in my business email inbox, the company fitness center was sponsoring a 5k walk/run.  I thought this might be a great way to “keep moving”.  I immediately did a Google search to find out how long a 5 k really is.  I found out it was 3.1 miles.  Heck, I could do that!  I rallied my coworkers and a few of them were already planning on doing it.  So, I signed up with excitement.

My Walking Team

The day of the event, I prepared myself with proper clothes, water bottle and comfy shoes.  After a quick group meeting, my co-workers and I headed over to the fitness center.  We were all chatting about the day, who had experience with this type of exercise and why we choose to do it.  As we got closer to the building I could feel the tiny sensation of butterflies starting.  With each step they grew larger and larger.  I could feel myself breaking out into a sweat.  Geeze, we haven’t even started the race yet.  I noticed that my mind was racing with thoughts of failure before we even checked in.  I was asking myself “What if I couldn’t make it all the way?”  “What if I am the last person” and “What if I am the ones that slows down my friends?”  Talk about “talking yourself” out of something!

I kept pushing through and ignored my “monkey brain” thoughts.  We checked in, got our racer numbers and proceeded to the starting point.  All the while my friends were smiling, joking and totally unaware of my panic.  I have pretty good acting skills and I am sure I was doing a great job of showing no fear.

The race begun, the runners were in the front, next where the joggers and then the walkers.  After about 1 mile, one of my friends picked up speed and headed out on her own.  My one good friend stuck with me through the full race.  As we were approaching the turn around point, I peeked behind us and realized we were the last ones.  Being the good friend that she is, my friend kept me going at a good pace and talking with me about anything fun and positive.

She knew that I was tripping about being last.  She kept saying, “Remember, the point of today Jane is that you have fun and complete what you set out to do”.  I realized that she was right and now was the time for me to set a base time for myself on 5k walks.  I could use this base time to challenge myself to improve.  Something I love to do is to compete against myself.

We finished the race and yes we were last.  But the lesson, awareness and accomplishment I got from this experience made me the winner.  About 6 months later I did this same race at work.  I beat my time by 15 mins and now I take 5k walks 1-2 times a week.  They are a piece of cake for me.  I shave minutes off my time each time and I now walk/jog during them.  My goal is to someday jog the entire way.  Sometimes the best way to conquer a fear is to just focus on finishing something and not be concern with the details.

I hope my story inspires you to try to get off the couch and try a 5k walk.  I found this great Checklist to prepare for the day of the walk. This would have help my nerves! Walking Checklists for a 5k Walk NOTE: Love the one note to “Do not smoke while walking.” DUH!