I Came, I Ran, I Was Mediocre

Jason and I ran the Kicks for Kids River Run 5K Saturday. It was my first 5K since last May when I ran my first one ever. I was better prepared for this one, and in better shape, so it was more fun. However, it was also a lot larger and more competitive than the last one I did, so even though I improved on my prior time by a hair under 2 minutes, I still finished right in the middle of the pack (those of you who know my alias can search for my results here--just look for me somewhere in the 31-minute-and-something finishers.)

It was fun, and thinking about how 4 years ago this month I was undergoing chemo puts it in perspective--how can I be disappointed with a mediocre finish when I couldn't even get out of bed some days 4 years ago? And I ran the entire length; that's always my goal. But it's a little demoralizing to get passed by 60-year-old men, 12-year-old kids, and women pushing toddlers in jogging strollers. Besides meeting my run-3.1-miles-without-stopping goal, I suppose I should be proud that I sheared 2 minutes off my last time and that I didn't injure my achilles tendon and need weeks of physical therapy (there's a reason why it's been a year since my last 5K.)

Jason was disappointed with his run but still smoked me. He still finished higher among the males than I did among the females. Being disappointed with his time will just fire him up to kick butt at our next run, the Racing to Read run to benefit Kenton County Public Library. It will be hard for me to improve on my time as I think I just had an exceptionally good day at the River Run, but there is one incentive the Racing to Read 5K has that may have me sprinting to the finish line...

Pancakes from First Watch will be served in the parking lot after the race.