This past weekend, I ran my first 5K.
I have always wanted to get into running, despite the fact that I am truly no good at it competitively. But this weekend was an insane test of mine and my team's ability to work together, of our stamina, and of our drive to finish.
Oh, and I forgot to mention that it was also mud run.
It was jam-packed with eighteen obstacles, mudslides, and several pools of muddy water. I was part of a team of four to motivate and push each other to get to the end. One of my friends needed extra reassurance since she didn't realize that a 5k was 3.1 miles. And she was the one who got us to do it in the first place!
Not many people realize how much of a team effort it is to get through a 3.1-mile mud run. We were constantly helping each other out of pits of water, ruts of quick-sand-ish mud, and helping to pull each other up hills. It was one of the most humbling and fun moments of my life.
This 5K taught me that I am still an athlete. My stamina is only as weak as my mentality, and I can do anything that I set my mind to. And running it with great friends helped us to bond and push ourselves to keep going and going.
There was a point where we were all trekking up the steepest hill and we were looking out at all we ran/walked across. It was so fantastic. To know that we slipped, slid, climbed, rolled, swam, etc. to the crest of this mini-mountain was super. It was so uplifting and motivational for us.
I think I remember all of us saying that we couldn't wait to run another one.
Like I said earlier, it was humbling. We felt accomplished but we knew how hard it was to get there. Running in the weeks leading up to it, it never got easier. It's similar to every trial and tribulation in your life. You have to push through and motivate yourself, others, and have that support system behind you to motivate you, too.
5Ks make you think about all of the things you never thought you could do and almost make you feel a little invincible. Any run higher than that just takes away your hopes and dreams because you will be laid up on the couch for more than a week. I don't know from experience but I'd like to. A lot of my friends have done a half marathon or a full and I want to get to that point in my training and peak athleticism.
And I'll try to drag my 5K team into it with me.
