I DID IT! -------- First 5K Race - The Krispie Kreme Challenge!

First 5K

My very first 5K was on a walk one evening with my husband.  I wasn't planning to do a 5K but was feeling pretty good so . . . we walked 1.6 miles away from our house.  The only way to get back home was to walk the 1.6 miles back . . . a 5K.  Once I had done that, I knew I could enter a 5K race.

First 5K Race

I can't believe my first 5K was called the Krispie Kreme Challenge.  How appropriate!  In this race, you run 1.5 miles, stop to eat a dozen donuts, and then run the second 1.55 miles.  I did not eat the donuts!

I calculated that it would take me 1:05 to finish and asked the folks at the registration table if that would be too long for them to wait.  They said no and were thrilled that I was attempting to finish a 5K.  I'm editing this blog four years later and I can honestly say, after racing for four years including a half marathon and many Olympic and sprint triathlons, that 3.1 mile walk was the hardest race I've ever done.  I still get choked up when I think about the kindness that the race organizers showed me.

At the half way mark, volunteers were handing out glasses of water.  I wasn't sure what to do and was a little embarrassed.  I was, after all, just walking.  I really didn't need a glass of water.  I wasn't sure they would give me one since I was just walking.  But as I walked by, a volunteer handed me a glass.  I will never forget the feeling I had at that moment.  I had a sense that I was part of something very special, a community of people all supporting one another.  And I was so proud to have been honored with a glass of water.

At about 2 1/2 miles, I was so exhausted and winded that I couldn't talk (or breath).  I asked my family (who had joined me for support) to please not talk to me.  I couldn't handle any distractions.  If I were going to finish, it would be mind over matter.  I had to focus. 

I finished and was probably the proudest I have every been!  When I cross the finish line, the announcer said, "This is Sue Reynolds' first 5K!" and everyone clapped and cheered for ME.  Simply amazing.  My husband and son were so proud.  I got choked up.  I couldn't believe that I had walked THREE MILES in a race!  I came in dead last (other than one person who didn't finish).  But the goal was not to beat other people.  The goal was to finish - and I had.  Woohoo!  Yippee!  Hooray!

That was a special moment that I will never forget . . . and the start of so much fun in races to come!