As many of you know, for my 50th birthday I decided to do 50 things I had never done before. That was a HUGE challenge to me and I really enjoyed it. Shortly after finishing that adventure I went onto have not one but two total knee replacements. I am now 14 months out from the first and 5 months from the second, and now that I am on the mend I decided that I wanted to find a new challenge. I want to embrace challenges as opportunities to learn and grow, to develop healthy lifestyles, and to prepare myself for what life has to give me. One way I see to do that is to do 12 5Ks in 12 months.
The 5K is one of the most popular race lengths in the world. A 5k is 5 kilometers long, which is the equivalent of 3.1 miles. An average goal is to walk 1 mile in 20 minutes or 3 miles in one hour. My current average is about an 18-minute mile but eventually, I would love to get to a 15-minute mile. That may be a lofty goal, but I guess that is why they call them goals, they challenge us to do something we do not think we are capable of. Because the 5K is one of the shorter road races, it's very popular among beginner runners/walkers who want to give racing a try as well as advanced runners/walkers who like to have short-term goals.
People run 5K races for many different reasons. Some of the most common include:
·They want to challenge themselves.
·They want to train for a specific goal, rather than just running/walking for exercise.
·They enjoy running/walking with others.
·They want to see how fast they can run/walk.
·They want to show their support for a specific charity.
·They like the idea of crossing a finish line.
·They promised to run/walk with a friend or family member.
·They want to beat their personal record in the 5K.
Many beginner runners/walker choose the 5K distance because it's an attainable goal. For some beginners, a 5K race is their first race ever. I want to invite you, my friends, family, and followers to come along with me, to challenge yourself. I would love to walk a 5K or two or three with you over the next 12 months.
My first 5K of this adventure was the Third Annual Heart Breaker Half Run/Walk with the accompanying 10K & 5K Run/Walk in Hillsboro. This is an individual and/or team event designed to provide a great opportunity to spend a delightful Saturday morning enjoying a fitness run/walk with someone special (mom, dad, brother, sister, son, daughter, wife, husband, best friend, co-worker, etc., or just yourself.
As many of you know, I was a little anxious about doing my first 5K alone. There are both disadvantages and advantages to walking alone. If you are alone, you have nobody to pass the time with and nobody to cheer you on along the way; however, walking alone there are no distractions and that may help you to go faster, as was the case today. I usually average a 17-1/2 to an 18-minute mile, but my "official" race time was 51 minutes, 27 seconds for an official 16:34 mile. Not bad if I do say so myself, but that has set the bar a bit high.
