My second 5K completed

I did it! My second 5K was another amazing experience. I finished in 49 minutes. That is 3 minutes less than my first 5K. I probably could have done better but I didn't think and my feet were on fire because it felt like I was walking on glass. We had gone to the water park 2 days before and walking on the cement barefoot all day caused my feet to be a little raw. But oh well. I still finished.

The first mile was hot and in the sun, but it was flat and that was nice. I did the most running in that mile. It felt so good and so hot, but the good won out. I was doing it. I was jogging/shuffling my way to the end. There was sweat dripping off of me. The music pumpin in my ears (from my awesome ass headphones)  kept me moving forward. But all good things come to an end.

Mile two was the complete opposite. Shady and cooler with a never ending roller coaster of hills. Now I am a slow shuffle/jogger at best, so hills are not my strong suit. A few times I wanted to call it quits. I was sore and hot and embarrassed that I was struggling so much. But I know that the hills would end and I would be that much closer to the end. So when I took that left onto Lake Front Drive I was so damn happy I couldn't help but grin from ear to ear.

Home stretch! I tried to move a little faster but my feet were on fire by that time. Every step was agony. But I could see it. I saw the finish line and there was no way in hell I was going to end it before than. So I did it. I pushed harder, I conquered it. I wasn't 5th to last this time. There were still a lot of people behind me.

After the race Becky, Kevin, Antowan and I took a refreshing dip in the lake. It was magic, wonderful, cold, refreshing and fun. If I can jump in a lake every time I run a race I would be a very happy camper.

I won my own personal race. Next time I am going to win it again. But I am going to own it! I am going to shave time off. That requires me to get out there and move my ass. Tonight I will hit the treadmill. Tomorrow morning I am gonna bring it on the beach. I am going to run 1 mile before I jump into the lake and cool off.
   .

Check it out:Necktie 5K

I have a long way to go. I need to get myself to that place again where exercising makes me feel empowered. I'm still happy when I work out, but I want to learn to love it. I want to be a runner. The journey of a thousand miles starts with one step. I have 6200 steps under my belt. I hope  the next 1,993,800 steps are hard and sweaty and fully rewarding.