Accomplishing Your Goals

   


   

     Hey everyone, it's me again. So I've had an interesting week, to say the least. My friend Noereem told me that she was doing a 5K to celebrate her birthday and suggested that I join her. I mulled it over for a bit, and I said yes. It would be my second one so I wanted to see if my time would improve from 2011. Now mind you, I didn't do any actual preparation or training. All I had been doing was running my two miles a few times a week. I wasn't sure how it was gonna turn out.

     So, it's the morning of the race, and I'm incredibly nervous. I don't know where it came from, but I was anxious to run this 5K. I go up to register and  ask one of the attendants if it were allowed that we could wear headphones, and he said yes. Some of that anxiety lessened because I knew that I'd be able to give my best effort with some music in my ears as I'm running. That's when I really went into race mode and was good to go. Headphones were in, my playlist was ready and I was off.

     So I'm running and I'm running, and just that, I kept on running. I wasn't tired, wasn't short of breath, I just kept a steady pace and I was putting in work! I ran two miles without stopping in about 20 minutes, which was a big deal for me. I stopped for some water and then my body caught up with me. My back was hurting, legs were on fire, common issues while running. I slowed down a bit and stopped a few times.

     Then, "Smooth Criminal" came on during my shuffle, and I knew I had to finish that last half mile strong. I was hoping for a really song to come up and motivate me to go harder, and of course MJ made it happen. Anyone that knows me, knows that "Smooth Criminal" is my push song to get through any type of workout. I ran my way to the finish line (on the verge of throwing up but I made it). My time ended up being 30:55, which was about a minute and change less than my previous time. I was proud of myself, but I knew I could do better and I wanted to do better. Something sparked in me and I knew that my next goal would have to be to run three miles without stopping in under 30 minutes.

     So from that 5K on Sunday, all the way today, I went running. Since I have two more 5Ks coming up next month, I became determined to meet my goal. Each day I pushed myself to do a little more each day. Running uphill, downhill, backwards, I did it all. The Map My Run app on my phone has been tracking all of my runs and my stats and I've been getting better each day.

     Then, yesterday morning, it happened: I achieved my goal!!! I ran three miles without stopping in under 30 minutes. I definitely screamed and I'm pretty sure everyone heard me, but I didn't care. There's no better feeling than setting goals and achieving them.

     I'm proud of myself for the progress that I'm making and I'm happy that I've been an example to people to achieve their own fitness goals. My friends that are gonna run this next 5K with me are like "I need to get on your level". Which kinda took me aback. I'm usually the one that follows these fitness pages on Instagram or seeing my athletic, military friends like damn I wanna look like that. At the end of the day, we have to stop comparing ourselves to others. I can only work on being in the best shape that I can be. I'm a work in progress and I'm only going to get better from here. I want to get a few more 5Ks under my belt and then start training for a half marathon, and eventually, I'm gonna make my way to the Boston Marathon. As long as I have the motivation (and a good ankle wrap and knee brace) I'll make it happen.