#14in2014

We did it! My sister and I set a goal this year of participating in 14 5ks during 2014 (#14in2014), and we totally did it. Today, we ran the Santa 5k in our area, and we’ve met our goal.

The first half of the year was slow going. Our first 5k together was a weird, warm January day. We barely were able to run as neither of us had trained well. Our next 5k was on a horribly cold, rainy day in February. Right before it began, we said, “We just want to medal for one race this year.” Wouldn’t you know that for that race, we both took first place in our age groups? (Ok, ok – we were the only people in our age groups – but we still had better times than the girls who were younger than us!)

Once I got the taste of that medal, I was determined to get better. I started training regularly (it helped that Flash didn’t need me so much), and started getting to the point where I could actually run the full 5k without stopping. By May, I was running them in less than 35 minutes. That may not sound like much, but for the girl who swore she’d never run? It was outstanding.

In June, I had my unicorn horn removed. That took me out of “training” for a few weeks. After that, it was ridiculously hard to get myself back in the swing of things. I still was able to run most of the 5ks, but it got progressively worse. School started back, and I lost the mojo to go out in my neighborhood to run.

Then, we found out we were expecting. My energy level was basically zero, and I didn’t feel very good at all. I still tried to do a few 5ks – we had a goal – but the training in between was non-existent.

That brings us to the last couple of 5ks that we had left. I walked more than I wanted to, and my time drastically lengthened to 45:00 +. It took everything in my power to not get down on myself. I had participated and moved for 3.1 miles while others who were not pregnant yet perfectly capable were sipping coffee and eating bacon and eggs somewhere, right?

At our next to last 5k, my BFF, Heather, ran with us. She took first place in our age category, and I took third. My sister took second in her age category. The three of us just died laughing thinking that the race officials were giving anyone and everyone a medal. But we legitimately earned our placed (I checked the stats later).

Today, neither my sister nor I took a medal home – but we took home something better. An absolute sense of accomplishment. Knowing that we did what we set out to do. And knowledge that we’re capable.

Will we run 15 in 2015? We might. We’ve already planned to participate in a race in February. I’ll walk it as I’ll be nearing 7 months pregnant. But what better way to stay in shape so I can bounce back easier after BabyGenius4 arrives?

Tags: 14in2014, health, running