Saturday, June 12th: My First 5k -- The Race for the Cure

Recently, I posted that I wanted to run a 5k, but that I wanted to lose 25 lbs. more before I did that. Well, plans change. Thursday evening when my wife and I were leaving gym (I had stopped by to run on the track), one of my friends from the morning workout class asked us if we were going to do the Race for the Cure, and encouraged us to do it. My wife has been interested in participating for a while, but she was more interested in just walking the course. I really wanted to run, but I wasn't sure how my knees would respond to the strain. As I have said on here before I have a history of trying to do too much too soon and suffering a setbacks. But, I have felt really good about my progress over the last few months and thought that I was up to the challenge. After a short discussion, I convinced my wife to try to run the 5k with me, and that we could enter the non-competitive section, so that if she wanted to that when could just walk the course. I know that my wife is in a lot better shape than I am, and she runs stronger on the treadmill than I do. My only concerns about her ability were more focused upon getting her to see that she could do it. But, I was pretty sure that once she started running that she would want to push herself to do it.

The Race for the Cure really means a lot to me on another level because my grandmother was a breast cancer survivor. He had a double mastectomy. At the time I was a small child and didn't really understand the gravity of the situation. I just remember how much she hated losing her hair and her wigs. I didn't understand the amount of personal strength it took for her to fight the disease, and now that I understand, I am proud that I could take part in The Race for the Cure. My grandmother fought and survived her battle with cancer, but tragically passed away shortly afterward in traffic accident. She was unable to take part in any events and tributes for survivors, but it doesn't matter because the point is that she survived, and her family will be there to honor her with our memory and presence.

So yesterday I ran my first 5k. I ran it with my wife, who I love beyond measure, and it was one of my best days. I am proud that I was able to run this race without any problems or setbacks. I am proud of the time that I ran, but I am more proud that I did with my heart full of love for my wife, and the memory of my grandmother.

The Race: 5k time -- 28:36 --