My Very First 5K ever!

On Sunday October 6^th, 2013 I ran in the Susan G. Komen for the Cure 5k race at Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, NJ. This day was a special day for 2 reasons: first I had always said  “the only way you will see me running is if someone is chasing me” and second reasons was I was not only there to support the thousands of women I didn’t know who had fought this horrible disease but I was to there to support one of my best friends and 4 Elements member Cristin. 

I am going to give you a little over of my history and then tell you more about the race just so you understand you can do anything you put your mind to. 

I am a 39 year old woman, a wife and mother of 2. I had never been an athlete in school, never ran , never played a sports. It was just not something I ever really wanted to do. I never was overweight but always curvy. By my mid twenty’s I noticed I was not able to eat anything I wanted so I started taking step class at the local gym. It didn’t really change anything but at least I could say I was doing something. A few years later I became pregnant with my oldest daughter and up until the third trimester had not gained much weight at all only 15 pounds. So I was up to 135. By the time I gave birth to her I was 210 pounds (I did have Preeclampsia so the doctor said I would lose some of the weight after birth) Well he was wrong! 1 month after I was still 205 pounds, I really didn’t care at that point I had a beautiful, healthy baby and I was enjoying our time together. (I also nursed and was told I would definitely lose weight, not) When my oldest was a year and a 1/2 I dropped a ton of weight fast and was back down to 120” WOW this is great I didn’t even do anything and the weight just came off” I remember saying. 2 weeks later I found out I was pregnant with baby number 2.  So as the months went on it was a repeat of the first minus the preeclampsia.  I was back in the same boat after my youngest turned 2 I decided I needed to do something and having another child was not an option.

I started with a change in the food I was eating and how often I was eating. Then I started to workout at a gym. This time I started to lift weights and within 4 months I dropped 50 pounds. 2 years went by and I had kept the weight off and decided to change my career. I wanted to help people change their lifestyle and so I became a personal trainer. 

Fast forward to now I started my own business to help people on a more personal level. For me working in a big gym wasn’t the answer, it was all about the money.  I work out almost every day of the week but still never ran! In September I formed a team for the Breast Cancer 5k/walk. We had a small team of 5 and 4 of them were running so I guess I would be running too? One of the other ladies had never ran a 5k but at least she started running 1 or 2 todays a week to train for it. Of course I recommend you train for any kind of run but I did not take my own advice.  I found myself the day before looking for excuses. Nothing I came up was good enough so I just put it out of my mind. As I lay in bed that night I thought to myself one last time, I could tell them I got sick in the middle of the night. Then I thought I can’t believe what I hear myself saying! If not for me then I need to do this for my friend. It was only a 5K how bad could it be? 

I woke up at 6am my stomach full of butterflies, got dressed, and started to pace. I was thinking to myself “am I really going to do this? I am 39 and never ran a day in my life I must be crazy”. My husband kissed me goodbye and said “ you can do this why are you so nervous”. He was right! (Don’t tell him I said that.) 7am we met I am still nervous and now realized I didn’t eat or drink a thing, this could be bad. My stomach was still in nuts as the ladies, my clients, my friends assured me I would be find. As we started I still was trying to talk myself into and then realized I was running. I was not running fast but I was doing it. After the first mile I did walk for a little bit then again after the 2 mile mark. I ran to the finish line hand and hand with my support through the whole race, Blanca, and finished in 49 minutes. Not bad for the first time! After that we met up with the other ladies to watch Cristin walk in the “Survivor Parade” I do have to mention that I could not stop moving because my legs felt like jello and I thought I was going to fall over. As we watch the parade I realized how luckily we were to be able to run the race. I did it and I was inspired by my friend and survivor who runs because she is able to. She is one of the luckily the ones who has turned her life upside to focus on the positive and not let anything stop her. So how could I not run for her? 

It was an amazing experience and I will do it again and I will train this time. Next up the Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving and then a Muddrella in May. I am sure we will do more between the two but for right now this a good goal to have. 

If you put your mind to it you can do anything and I am living proof of that! Once you commit yourself to something and surround yourself with people how will support you and even do it with you we be successful, in everything you do.