This past weekend in Salt Lake City, I grabbed my hubby and some friends, and we headed over to the State Fairgrounds to run the Color Me Rad 5k. Given that I’m the absolute least fit person in our entire social circle, I was sort of dreading the experience. I can’t run very far or very fast, and I am totally out of breath within a minute. I knew it was going to be difficult for me. Add on to this the fact that we’ve had mega rain lately, and I was nursing two pretty bad injuries to my feet (my heels were cracked and bleeding and in a LOT of pain), and you can probably figure out that this wasn’t going to be an amazing race.
BUT. And here is the big big but (big butt?), I did it anyway. I showed up, I kept a smile on my face, and I RAN. Well, I ran a little. In truth, I walked for nearly all of it.
I had my most awesome husband with me, supporting me all the way. He is my greatest cheerleader in all things, and even though he is super fit and totally could have run the whole thing in a quarter of the time, he stayed with me and went at my pace. I mean, in truth is IS a “fun run.” It is meant to be enjoyed. If you’re not familiar, Color Me Rad is basically a 5k where you get craploads of colored chalk thrown on you. You’re supposed to wear white so all the colors show up and look awesome, but I own nothing white. So we went for black. It worked!
The weather being so gloomy was a big problem. Most of the course was mud and puddles, so nearly everyone was walking or doing a slow jog so they wouldn’t slip and fall. Plus, they hadn’t organized very well, and areas of the course were VERY narrow, and many folks were walking in groups, so they were hard for runners to get by.
Every time I got my breath back and wanted to run, it seemed there was a puddle, mud or people in my way! But I did my best. By the end of the course I was in a LOT of pain, since my feet were in such a bad state, so I was limping quite slowly. But it wasn’t like I was trying to beat my time or anything. In fact, I have no idea how long it took us to run the race. I don’t think they even kept track of anyone.
I did manage to run through the finish line, though, just in time to meet up with all of our friends, who had finished LONG before we did. I didn’t care. I was proud of myself for making it.
I did it. I ran a 5k, and it didn’t kill me. I got up early on a Saturday morning, when I’d much rather have been sleeping, and I worked through wind and rain and crowds of people (all my least favorite things!) and did exercise. My hubby said I did better than he thought I would have. To be truthful, I did much better than I thought I would have.
I’ve signed up for another 5k in July. It’s the “Fro Yo 5k” which is another “fun run,” and it’s just down the street at my local park. I get frozen yogurt for doing it. How bad can that be?!
Seeing myself in the photos and feeling how my body ached and how winded I got from the whole race was hard. I am heavier than I’ve been in years, and I am more out of shape than I’ve EVER been. Even when I weighed 260 lbs, I was never this lazy.
This weekend was the start of a new era. I have vowed to go all out to get my weight back down, my fitness levels up, and my energy through the roof. I am hopeful that next year when I sign up for Color Me Rad, I will see a HUGE improvement in my own attitude, my looks and my abilities. Look out world! Nothing can stop me now!