And another 5K

I ran my third 5K race this morning.

What was truly awesome was that four friends ran the race with me. In July, when I ran my first 5K, I wrote a story about the experience for the newspaper I work for. In the story, I expressed a desire for others to be motivated by my experience and to get off the couch and into their running shoes. The feedback I received from the story was (and continues to be) astonishing. The friends who did the 5K with me this morning all were inspired by my story to accept the running challenge.

I had a good run, sorta. I fell right into "the groove" - perfect rhythm, perfect pace, perfect breathing. I did the first mile without even checking my Nike+ for distance.

But when I got to the halfway point, I discovered that my Nike+ was off, because it registered 1.65 at the turnaround. Crap. When my Nike+ read that I'd done a 5K distance, I was right on target time-wise at about 38 minutes. But I still had about a quarter mile to go on the race course. And what had been described as a "flat and fast" course concluded with an uphill incline.

I don't have the official results yet, but it was about 42 minutes. I'm disappointed that I didn't meet my goal of finishing in under 40 minutes, but I received a Finisher's Medal which has a mini plaque on the back that declares that I placed first in my division.

I remind myself that back in June I couldn't even run for 45 seconds. And knowing that I've motivated others to pursue a healthier lifestyle is more valuable than any medal.