Last weekend, I took part in the Run Project Dallas Skyline 5K along with six members of my 75 Hard accountability group (and two spouses – including my own). It was the first race I’ve done in literally a decade! While I definitely loved the experience, participating in the 5k reminded me of a couple of things.

1. Fitness comes in all shapes and sizes.
The mom running next to me with two kiddos in a jogging stroller. The 80-ish year old man shuffling across the finish line faster than hundreds of other people who were walking. The guy dressed up in a full Spider-Man costume that sprinted past me at the turnaround. (How he could breathe through that full face cover is beyond me!) The dad running alongside his 7-year-old daughter. (That first grader kicked my ass by the way!) Everyone with their individual life circumstances just out there doing the damn thing! All ages. All sizes. Everyone just working to get from start to finish. It’s a privilege to move your body, and it was refreshing to see so many people honoring and celebrating that privilege.
2. It doesn’t matter if you come in first or last. You’re finishing well ahead of someone who opted to lay on their couch.
695 people completed the 5k, all running their own race, at their own pace, pushing to finish. It was so inspiring! And, honestly, when you see people of all shapes, sizes, ages, and fitness levels working their hardest to cross the finish line, it really does put it all in perspective. #noexcuses
Ultramarathon runner Dean Kazares is quoted saying, “Run when you can, walk if you have to, crawl if you must, just never give up.” I couldn’t agree more!
3. Race day can be a bit unpredictable.
When I first signed up for the 5k, my goal was to finish in under 30 minutes (just a bit below a 10-minute mile pace). But as I started training, I realized I would be able to hit that goal fairly easily. My best 5k pace in the weeks leading up to the race was 27 minutes and 43.36 seconds. My thought was that with the race day adrenaline, I just might be able to shave off some time and come in at the 27 minute mark.
Not so much.
It turned out to be a fairly windy day, which made it so much harder. And for whatever reason, I was on the struggle bus for that last mile. Even though I was trying to push myself, I felt like my little legs just couldn’t go any faster! My third mile ended up being a whole 30 seconds slower than my first two, bringing my final 5k time to 27 minutes and 54 seconds. Certainly not bad, but definitely not what I was hoping for.
Even though I had run the 5k distance several times in training without issues on the last mile, that just wasn’t the case for race day. And honestly, I don’t think I could have done anything differently to better prepare. On a less windy day, could I have run faster? Perhaps. But I’ll never know, and that’s just how it goes.
4. I’m more fit than I give myself credit for.
I had absolutely no thoughts about placing in this race. After all, 27:34 is certainly a long way from breaking any records! When the official race results came in, I saw that I finished 101st out of 695. I’ll take it!
But upon further investigation… I actually finished third in my gender/age category! Granted, there were only 50 women in my class (Women 45-49), but 3rd place out of 50 is something I’m crazy proud of! Because I didn’t stay for awards (again, no assumptions about finishing anywhere close to award contention), the race director is mailing me my award. So fun!
Confidently being able to complete 3.1 miles made me think about possibly trying for longer distances in the future. In fact, since the race, I’ve finished a 4.7 mile run, making me think that I could do a 10k and train for a half marathon.
5. There can be just as much joy in cheering someone on at the finish line as actually making it to the finish line yourself.
My absolute favorite part of the race was screaming at the top of my lungs for my accountability team as they crossed the finish line, some of them in their first 5k ever! Of course, it was great to have the people who finished before me (including my hubs) cheering for me when I crossed the finish line, but being able to be their cheerleader at the finish was such a great reward!
6. Fitness is more fun with friends!

I’ve known this from my Peloton, as I much prefer to schedule rides with friends than ride alone. When I started thinking about signing up for a race, I reached out to my 75 Hard accountability group to see if any of them would want to join me. Six of them happily did – and one even hopped on a plane to do the race!
At the end of the day, it was so much more rewarding to make new memories with other people than it would have been if the hubs and I had just run the race together and then went home.
Have you completed a 5k? And if not, would you ever consider doing one?
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