I accidentally ran a 5K

A funny thing happened yesterday morning ... I unwittingly ran a 5K. As I age, I tend to do more and more things unwittingly, but at least in this case, the surprise was a welcomed one.

For some reason I had it in my head that a 5K was 3.3 miles. So I had been slowly trying to increase my runs to reach that benchmark in time for the Girls on the Run 5K. I am a part of a team of former Baker's Square co-workers called Team P.I.E.S. (Pep in Every Step! ... a name thought up on the spot by a very creative Gina Weber)

Until a few days ago, I'd been running every morning at Sibley Park. I had started this running campaign at the track at the Y, as you may recall, circling and circling, without much to look at it. I kept going back there because I had this mental block about running. I had never done it before, and as such, it was just so out of my comfort zone, and so in my silly little mind, I had a terrible feeling that I could only run on the track. That if I took it to any other environment, I wouldn't be able to do it. I know, it's weird.

So my next step out of that comfort zone was Sibley Park, because it's essentially just a larger track -- one big circle around the park. And while it's technically outside, which helps get me used to running in wind and rain and on pavement, my car is within close walking distance if an injury were to occur, or just a bad running day where I'd need to quit.

The Sibley runs went well. I mapped the distance with my car, about .8 miles around once. And I'd circle it three times, which took me almost exactly 30 minutes. But after a few times, I was getting bored. And that can make for a bad run. I had to stop and walk a couple of times. So it was time to move on.

A few days ago, I learned about the Daily Mile, which is an AWESOME site where runners can create an account for free, create maps of their runs around Mankato neighborhoods (or wherever you live), and it calculates the distance. You can save those maps, and each day, you log your running distance and time, and it keeps track of those miles over time. So by year's end, you can say, "Wow! I ran 1,000 miles this year!" Super neat.

So I created a running route down to Tourtellotte Park from my house, over to Fourth and Fifth, and then back, and it was my first successful 2.6 mile run that wasn't in a circle. Haha. Yesterday, I altered the route to be about 3.1 miles, which took me a loooong time. 41 minutes, which is a 13-minute mile. Geeeez, so slow. But I did it!

When I got to work, I looked up the route for the Girls on the Run 5K, and I glanced to the left to see the distance of the race: 3.1 miles. And I realized I was already there! It was pretty neat. I was excited.

So now that I know I'm ready for the race about 5 weeks in advance, my goal now is to keep increasing distance, and then I will work on speed. I'm hoping to get up to about 4 miles, which eventually, I hope will take me 40 minutes each day. Maybe someday I'll work toward a 10K or something, just for fun, but honestly, just the act running each day is all I wanted to accomplish when I started this.

The coolest feeling at this point, especially after yesterday, is realizing that running is something that I DO now, not something that I'm trying to do. I like it. I like it a lot.

Shhhhh ... I have a secret

Before I tell you my secret, I have to fill you in about my mom. She's the most giving, loving person I know, and her pride comes from the achievements of her kids. That's why she's got a playbill stuck in the back of her scrapbook of "The Fiddler on the Roof," from my eighth-grade year. She saved it because I held a spotlight, so my name was listed on the program. That's why she was my date a couple of years ago at the Society of Professional Journalists banquet, when I won an award. But it was a second place award, and only first-place finishers received them in person. Didn't matter. She just wanted to be there with me on a special night.

With this in mind, I'm planning something for my mom. So shhhh ... here's my secret. I've been running on the sly, and on Girls on the Run 5K race day, I'm going to surprise her.

I'm a drama queen, so my last post was all about me quitting running and whining about my knee, which I was sure was done for. But it just took a little more time, and then I was back in action. I HATE TO FAIL. So it has been really good to try again and succeed. This morning I ran three sets of 9-minute runs with 1-minute breaks in between. At this rate, by April 28 on race day, I should be in very good shape to run the 5K at Sibley Park.

If I'm blogging about it how is it a secret? My mom doesn't read blogs. (But Joe, she reads the print edition, so please don't pull this blog entry to run in the paper on Saturday. Thanks.) So my plan is to invite her to stay at my house that weekend, and tell her that I'm taking her to brunch on Saturday, April 28. But on the way to brunch, we'll take a little detour to Sibley Park, I'll unzip my hoodie and reveal my Girls on the Run 5K T-shirt, and I'll tell her that I'm a runner now!

Why is this even something she would care about? When I first started talking to my mom about how I'd taken up jogging, she was really impressed. No one in our family runs or would ever consider being a "runner." So she asked me about it all the time. She was truly very excited that I was taking on the challenge. And when I ran my first mile, she was even happier for me than I was. So I hated having to tell her that my knee was hurt and that I'd have to give up my 5K aspirations.

Part of keeping the running secret is so she doesn't worry. She worried about my knee, and I don't want her to be concerned about me getting hurt again. Plus, if you knew my mom at all, you'd know that when I cross the finish line at Sibley Park on that morning, it will feel even better for her than if she had crossed it herself. So keeping it a surprise until then will be a lot of fun.

I just hope I can keep the secret!!! Nobody tell her, OK?