The Finish Line

Today I ran in my first 5K ever! In fact, it was the first time I had participated in an official running event of any kind. Tanner has been training for a half marathon the last few months (as if he didn't have enough on his plate), and "subtly" encouraged me to hit the pavement and train with him. I knew that a "half" was too tall an order for me right now and that I would just be setting myself up for failure (or major injury). When we heard about the 5K run here in Williamsburg, it seemed a little more doable.

The training had been gruelling (you know, an occasional run here and there over the last two weeks). Tanner planned to run with me as part of his training, but he hurt his knee the weekend before while running a paltry 11 miles, and so he rested in the hope of being able to run in the half next weekend. I must admit before the race I was quite nervous, which seems silly because it wasn't a competition or anything, but I really wanted to run the entire race without stopping. When we arrived, I found out that the race included a number of hills (I swear the only ones in Williamsburg), which only increased my anxiety since I had only trained on flat ground! In the end, I completed the run without stopping, smoked a few of the other runners, and was so happy to see my smiling husband and son cheering me on at the finish line!

Look at that form!

Note: Tanner A. Nielson contributed to this post.