Thanksgiving 2011 will go down as the day I completed my first 5K run. My sister and I ran in San Antonio Food Bank’s Great Turkey Challenge. We were happy to see a large crowd ready for a morning run. The energy around us was positive and lively. What a relief as neither of us knew what exactly to expect.
We didn’t ‘train’ for this and had merely mentioned that we had interest several months ago. We only registered for it 5 days prior to the event. I was uncertain if we would both be in San Antonio on this day and postponed making the commitment until plans were final. Once I did, we were excited! Earlier this year, both my sister and I have made changes in our daily routines to workout. It wasn’t anything we planned together, we just did it. Personally, seeing her results and watching her make sacrifices of time to be at the gym motivates me. So, we thought it would be fun!
And we were right! The route led us through a lovely part of SouthTown San Antonio. The weather was perfect, not warm but sunny with crisp morning air. And the community of fellow runners, supporters and volunteers were uplifting.
It was our very first 5K run each and I’m thankful that we did it together :-). She beat me by 5 minutes. I mean, we weren’t racing each other … It was for a good cause! That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.
My goal time: to finish. The same day.
My actual time: 31:09.
I’m pretty proud of myself for running the entire 3.1 miles! I kept my runner’s number pinned to me all day as a badge of honor!
I did something I’ve never done before. I got to do it with my only sister. I will do it again and only get better. This Thanksgiving, I am grateful for many blessings and this is one of them.
Cheers to our next 5K run!
When was the last time you did something that you haven’t done before?!
