A 5K tomorrow: I'm very excited!

Tomorrow evening I’m running in the Chicago Volunteer Legal Services’ Race Judicata 5K! I’m running with my colleagues from the office.

The response from the office has been very good. There are ten of us participating in the the run/walk event. Six of us are running and 4 of us are walking. I’m not really nervous but I do have some butterflies in my stomach because of the six who are running, one is an experienced marathoner, another a half-marathoner and one is a triathlete. Between the remaining three I am the slowest!

I’ve got the butterflies because I feel a need to perform well. I’m the “captain” of my team since I organized this outing. I’ve been talking about the run with the office to promote it and in the process I’ve talked about my own running endeavors (humble as they are). The reality is that no one will care how I do, but my ego is convinced that everyone will be watching to see my final race time!

It’s been a while since my last race. In fact, I think my last race was the 10K I did with a colleague in Evanston, IL. I’ve been working out (strength training and running) a lot since my last organized race but I can’t tell if I’ve really been pushing myself or not. For me at least, competition is the best way for me to push myself. Tomorrow will be a good opportunity for me to assess my progress.

I’m trying to workout smart so that I’m not too tired tomorrow. However, I also need to keep things in perspective - this is a 5K and not a marathon - and not overdo the “resting the legs”. Today I went to the gym and did strength training for my chest, shoulders and triceps.

My bench press is definitely improving. Today I did 215 pounds for 7 reps. When I can do 225 pounds for 15 to 20 reps then I’ll know that I’m getting closer to where I need to be. The bench press is not the only (or even the best) measure of one’s strength training progress. It’s a psychological thing from my youth (remember the question everyone asks at the gym in high school - “how much can you bench?”). My leg strength, shoulder strength and back strength are all improving too.

It was good workout, and when I came home I followed it up with a meal of quinoa, spinach and beef. For dessert I had Kashi “Go Lean Crunch” with skim milk and a medjool date. Now if I can get to bed early and get a good night’s rest then I should be in good shape for tomorrow’s 5K!