Before I had a baby and while I was pregnant, I would participate 5K (3.1 miles) races all the time. 5K’s are very popular with many people as a fun way to enjoy some physical activity. While a lot of people run, some others jog or walk. I was always one of the walkers. Even with just walking, it was a good way to get an hour of exercise. Usually I would be joined by family and friends. We would walk and talk and have a great time. I have done some really fun ones, including ones where they threw colored chalk dust at you as you went by. They were a good way to get off the couch and get some fitness time in without a whole lot of training. As far as exercises choices go, I always liked walking and the benefits that came with it.

Today the Little One and I entered a 5K race called the “Gobble Wobble”. The weather was perfect for some walking. This particular one was gathering donation items for the local food bank, which was nice. Normally when I do a 5K I am surrounded by family and friends. Today it was just me and my son, who was riding in his stroller. The two of us tackling the course! It was on a college campus, so the makeup of the race was comprised of college athletes. I knew that we would be heading up the rear, and I was OK with that. 🙂

Once the horn sounded, we were off! The course was comprised of a loop that everyone was supposed to do twice. The 5K I did today was the first one I have done in probably 7 months, so I wasn’t planning on walking very fast. However, there were two coworkers with me who were walking pretty fast. I decided to try and keep up. However, after a couple of minutes, I realized I was in worse shape than I thought. The coworkers got ahead of me, and I decided to cut across the course and go back to the starting point. I didn’t want them to not see us come back and think that there was some mother and her child in distress somewhere. 🙂

I am not sure if I ever did get a quarter of the way through the course, but it is alright. I got some exercise, some fresh air, and some quality time with my son. As a bonus, at the start of the race, I saw a motivational sign on the light post that had a quote from Eleanor Roosevelt: “You must do the thing that you think you cannot do.” It was a great thing to see as I am trying to start a blog and get in shape. Also, it shows me that I might want to incorporate some more walking into my daily routine. 🙂

-Aurora