Click to enlarge
I think the last time I ran 5 kilometers was when I was a teenager, probably right around 18. Now I can say that the last time I ran that far was when I was 33!
It was actually not as hard as I was expecting. I was pushing Orion in his jogging stroller (of course) and about 2/3 of my route did not have sidewalks, so there were several times that I had to dodge into the grass and fallen leaves to avoid getting run over. However, I managed to find a route without too much traffic, so I mostly ran in the road.
At about mile 2.25, I got a nasty cramp in my side, worse than I’ve had since maybe the first week I picked up running last year. I remember the tricks the cross-country coaches at Dexter High School taught me, though, so I managed to adjust my breathing and power through it. It went away after about another 1/2 mile.
I’m pretty excited that I managed to do this, even though I’ve been slacking off a bit on running the last couple of weeks. I am planning to run a 5K on Thanksgiving morning and I was starting to get a little concerned that I wouldn’t really be ready for a race that long in a month. But now I know that it’s just a matter of whittling down my time!
Adam E. Howard 