Running a 5K For a Good Cause & My One Wish For Race Day

I’m sitting here staring at the television when I should be getting ready for bed. I’m running a 5K in the morning, actually my very first “official” 5K and I’m feeling a little bit nervous. I’m not so nervous about the distance since 3.1 miles is something I’ve run before and feel comfortable running, but I am worried about my body and how it will perform. Right now both of my feet are sore, which has been happening off and on for the past six months, and my knee isn’t so sure it wants to do anything more than sleep in tomorrow morning. I tore ligaments in that knee when I was in high school, so it tends to cause problems every now and then.

Mentally I actually feel great about the race and in some ways that’s a bad thing since I tend to push myself too hard and too fast and end up paying for it in the days that follow. I’m prepared, though, with a brand new package of Epsom Salt for the long hot bath I plan to take tomorrow night. More than anything right now I’ve set a goal for myself to run more than I walk over the course of those 3.1 miles and I’m counting on a really good music playlist to push me and keep me motivated. I’m also counting on my family to stand on a sidewalk along the route and cheer me on. That’s a really big deal, especially since two of them are teenagers who are never out of bed on a Sunday before the 9 a.m. start time of my race. They must really, really love me. Either that or I did an excellent good job of laying on a teeny tiny guilt trip. In the end I don’t really care what gets them to the sidewalk just as long as they are there and in my peripheral vision because it will push me toward the finish line. Crossing the finish line will not only give me an amazing sense of accomplishment, but it will also provide holiday meals for needy families in my area, which is reason enough to drag my entire family out of bed on a Sunday morning if you ask me.