Jumping In, Head First, No Life Jacket

I seem to see a pattern of events in my running lifestyle.  Life throws me some obstacles that prevent me from running, and then once those things are no longer an issue I go right into running a race with very little to no prep time.  This month has been no different.

I found out yesterday that I am OK to run for the time being.  Yesterday was Tuesday & there is a 5K race on Friday, so of course I signed up for it, leaving me with absolutely ZERO time to get a single run in before race day.  Under "normal" running circumstances, I'd be having a panic attack right now.  I haven't run since February, I have no idea what my current endurance is and no way of finding out until I cross that start line either, I'm 15 lbs heavier than I have ever been while running AND it's the hardest race I've run to date:  The Milltown 4th of July Firecracker 5K. But I'm not panicked.

I'm actually 100% calm about it & even a bit giddy!  It's kind of like learning to swim.  Some people swear that the best way to learn to swim is to just jump in the water, head first, with no life jacket.  Maybe running is like that for me.  There's no better way to see what you're made of than by just going for it.  Stop stressing and just try.  And I have some great company running with me.  KL, who ran with me last year, and LMG who did the Race For the Hungry Holiday 5K with me back in December.

And of course I will be making sure not to get injured.  Going in completely blind isn't always smart, but I will prevent injury.  It's a 5K, not a marathon so I'm fairly confident that I won't do any damage to myself.  I'll be stretching every day leading up to the race, and if possible I'll hop on the treadmill today to get in a walk/jog, just to get things moving at a faster pace than usual.  Other than that there isn't really anything else that I can do so why not just have fun with it!?

Of course, nothing is as simple as that and I do have a few goals.

1. Finish.  That is always #1.  Just finish.  While I am not always proud of my time, I have yet to have a DNF next to my name so I want to keep it like that for as long as possible.
2. Run the whole 3.1 miles.  This one will be tough.  I didn't even run the whole thing last year, but I am hoping that the difference in weather can change that.  Plus, I'm not after any lofty speed goals so there is no reason I can't just take it slow & steady.
3. Finish in less than 40 minutes.  This is possible.  Last year's Firecracker run was just over 35 minutes, and we did the race in December in 39 minutes.  Walk or run, we should be done in 40.

It's funny how goals change with your situation.  My old goals were to beat 28 minutes and now I just want to run.  Goals change as life changes, and running seems to be my go to for therapy these days.  When I get beat down I feel like running is my way of fighting back.  Life says you can't but running proves that you can. The days where you can get up and put one foot in front of the other are a big, "Screw you!" to the days that you can't or aren't allowed to.  They make you feel empowered and like you have a tiny piece of control over something in this crazy, crazy world.

So "Screw you!" no running days!!  LOL