It’s a big weekend here in the CLE, folks. After 14 weeks of training, strengthening, and proving themselves over and over again, my team of 5K participants will be taking on their first official race. I’m beyond proud of these amazing women. What started as a true couch-to-5K program is culminating with beautiful, strong runners.
I’ve been largely quiet about my 5K training program, mostly to respect the privacy of my participants, so I’ll keep this short and sweet. What I will say is this: no matter how big or how small your goal, it is achievable. But you have to want it. You have to show up to practice. You have to do the work. Simply saying, “I think I’ll run a 5K” does not mean you will run a 5K. These ladies started from zero. Zero miles. Zero activity. Zero experience. Now they can run for upwards of 35 minutes straight, with no breaks, hills and all. In 14 short weeks we have gone from 0 to 4 miles. 0 to 40 minutes. 0 to amazing. I’m honored that these women have gifted me the opportunity to be their coach, and I’m humbled by the dedication and spirit they have shown throughout this training program.
One of our very first meetings took place in the rain. And they showed up. A lot of our meetings were cold. But they were there. A few times it was so hot and humid it was hard to run. And these ladies rocked it! We’ve done countless lunges, squats, and drills. We’ve met at the track, at the park, and on the trails. Friendships were formed and also renewed. Life threw some curve balls, but my athletes pressed on and have persevered. Each week I would look forward to meeting with this group. We would go around in a circle and recap how our week went, and discuss successes and opportunities for improvement. We became a team.
Throughout this week, I’ve been sharing some of my favorite images to my group on Facebook. I’m hopeful these words of wisdom and funny tidbits will inspire these ladies to enjoy the experience and bask in the glory of their achievements. No matter how fast or how slow, Saturday’s race will be an accomplishment to be celebrated.
I’m sharing this with you today to ask for your support. When you set out for your morning run on Saturday, please send good running vibes to my girls. They’ve worked hard and deserve every bit of well wishing that can be mustered.
And to my 5K ladies — thank you from the bottom of my heart. This has been a life-changing experience for me, and I’m grateful you entrusted your training to me. LET’S DO THIS!
#noexcuses
xo
Do you remember YOUR first 5K? How did you feel after you finished?
