Conquering My First 5k: A Beginner’s Journey to Running

I was starting to lose steam. I wasn’t sure if my legs could go on. I wanted to quit.  

Breathe. Breathe. Breathe.  

I was 30 minutes into the Love Where You Live 5k and wasn’t sure if I could make it to the finish line.  

I woke early that Saturday morning to attend Justin Rollins' All Elite Training’s 600-Calorie Burn Class at the Spartanburg Athletic Club. I usually arrive around 6:45 a.m. to secure my spot – grab my mat, dumbbells, and towel, and fill up my water bottle. For breakfast, all I had to eat was two scoops of Muscle Milk mixed with water.  

In those classes, you burn 600 calories (about 48 minutes of running) with high knees, pushups, jumping jacks, burpees, mountain climbers, planks, lunges, etc. These are fast-paced, high-intensity exercises with a cool soundtrack and Justin changes up the exercises and intensity every week. I’ve not missed one class, including the Big One on April 18 for American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.  

One hour later, I was at the starting line with Kate Brown, Chuck Reback, and Justin. I was going to be running in my first 5K.  

I’d only been running for a couple of months. My training has been running laps around the tennis courts at SAC and running at night on the Mary Black Rail Trail and the River Birch. Pretty flat courses so far.  

A few months earlier, I told Justin that I didn’t even think I could run because I had wide feet, and I could never find a shoe that fit me properly. Shoes always hurt my feet. He suggested I go to Gotta Run Spartanburg and be properly fitted. I now own three pairs of running shoes – two pairs of New Balance shoes and a pair of Altra shoes.  

So now there are definite signs that I am a runner. Besides the running shoes, I also own a Nike sweatband, a Garmin Forerunner 55 GPS Running Watch, several pairs of running shorts and a Nathan water bottle.  

FIRST 5K  

On the week of the race, Justin sent me a text saying “Sign up for 5K Saturday. I’ll run with you.”  

I quickly said “Ok” not knowing what I was getting myself into. I walked a couple of 5Ks last year – the Josh Lee Memorial 5K and the Walk a Mile In Their Shoes 5K. This would be my first 5K run.  

I signed up at the last minute so there would be no medal, no T-shirt but I was still excited and nervous about running my first 5K. I liked the idea of doing something outside of my comfort zone.  

Fit into three fitted suits by February. Climbed 16 miles on Black Balsam. Now, I could add my first 5K run to my benchmarks. 

But here I was 30 minutes into the run and the course was a little tougher than I was expecting.    

Somehow Justin could sense that I needed some encouragement. He started telling me what to expect on the run – upcoming turns and hills.  

When I was starting to lose steam, Justin gave me a pep talk.  

“This is tough, but you’re tougher,” he told me.  

How did he know I needed to hear that? I just wanted to stop running and walk the rest of the way, but I couldn’t let Justin or myself down. But Justin kept talking to me, encouraging me. He even played Metallica’s “Enter Sandman” for me. LOL! I mentioned to him I had that song playing in my head before the 5K.  

I could now see Main Street in the distance. Justin told me how, on his Boston Marathon runs, people cheered all along the route. I could see a few people cheering on the sidelines near Main Street. And finally, we took that final left turn, and he told me how I would want to run through that finish line and hear the folks cheering.  

I did it. I crossed that finish line and ran my first 5K in around 37 minutes.  

I told everyone I saw that day that I ran my first 5K. I was so proud of myself that I told the folks at Lean Kitchen, Vitality, my chiropractor and everyone on social media.  

Later that weekend, I texted Justin: “I know you could have run a lot faster and got to finish line quicker.” 

He replied: I didn’t care one bit about running faster. It wasn’t about me. I think you did awesome for first time.” 

Justin, a three-time Boston Marathon runner, said I did “awesome.”  

STILL RUNNING 

Since the race, I have continued my training by running two to three miles a day on the Mary Black Rail Trail and on River Birch.  

I continue to ask Justin questions about running. I tell him that I’m putting in the time, but I feel like I am slower. He thinks it’s probably the heat and that I need to acclimate.  

I joked with Justin that years ago I used to see him running on the Rail Trail when I would be walking my dog, Barney. I never thought, “I want to run with that guy one day.”  

Now, folks on the trail are treating me like I’m a runner.  

I am getting the knowing waves from other runners.  

One cyclist yelled at me, “Feeling those endorphins?”  

A runner friend from Greenville asked me if was getting the “runner’s high.”  

I’m even talking about running with other runners.  

Friday, Justin and I ran 3 miles on the Rail Trail in 89-degree heat.  

Justin texted me later saying, “3 miles big time achievement.”  

So, yes, I guess now I am a runner too.  

No matter how fast or how slow I go, three miles is a big-time achievement and I’m going to tell everyone I know.  

I don’t need a medal or T-shirt. I’ve got those miles recorded on my Garmin app and that’s good enough for me. 

Breathe. Breathe. Breathe.