Survived the 5k!

Day 40
My first 5k in a very long time! I survived! The weather was perfect (as usual here in southern Arizona). I wasn't sure of the route since this race started at the hospital on post. Most of the runs I've participated in on post start at Barnes Field House. After checking in, I found a route map and saw we were running in the Old Post area, which is a very scenic part of post, but also hilly.

Evan was excited to do the race along with me. I had to dust off the jog stroller and check the tire pressure; luckily, I invested in the heavy-duty one and I think the maximum weight of the person in the stroller can be around 60 pounds. Poor Evan will probably be able to ride in it when he's 10! The jog-stroller makes me look like I'm a really high-speed runner (HAH)!

I'm not sure the total number of runners since there was a 10k and a 5k. The 10k runners started at 0700; the 5k at 0715. I think in the 5k group there was maybe 75? There were people of all shapes and sizes, some carrying babies in backpacks and some other stroller-pushers like me.

The start was a slight uphill and I decided to give it a go at running from the start. My main goal was to not come in last (unlike my first 10k I ever ran a few years back)! With my initial run, I at least got a bit of a lead on the walkers. I started a pattern of a 1-minute run followed by a 3-minute walk just to get my running rhythm going. The route cut down around the traffic circle and down hill to the 4-way stop. Evan loved the steep downhill and told me "faster mommy"!

When running, I still have flashbacks to the words of wisdom from my First Sergeant at the Defense Language Institute. He was a big runner and I remember him telling us that when you have a downhill, use it to your advantage. Lean back to stretch out your hips and legs; use the gravity to help pull you. Realizing how much of this race is uphill, I needed to work those downhills!

We turned the corner and headed up the hill. It was a slow climb, I'll have to check on the exact altitude change. Once that hill really kicked it, I started walking (pushing a jog stroller doesn't help either). The 10k runners met up with us at a point near the top and we all made the turn and started heading down the hill past all the general officer housing.

Again, I let gravity help pull me down as I started to run again; the jog stroller also added to the pull. It was nice to hear a few people say encouraging words as I passed them on the hill. On this long stretch I could really feel it in my thighs and though, wow I'm going to feel this later! I could see the turn at the bottom of the street and my goal was to run to that point. My body could have easily given up and started walking, but mentally, I had to push through it. I made it to that corner thinking all the while, this fat chick can still run!

Coming into the last stretch of the route, I was thinking that this is the longest 5k EVER! I ended up passing the some of the walkers who passed me on the hill toward the finish. We could see and hear the cheering crowd at the finish, which was a gradual downhill. I ran it the whole way down the hill to the finish and crossed the line in 44 minutes. All told, about a 15-minute mile with crazy hills! At least that's a good baseline!