5 SECRETS TO RUNNING YOUR FIRST 5K

Have you ever started a workout program and just knew you would complete it all the way through? Like, you got started with good intentions, your motivation was through the roof, you told several people what you were doing, and you started out strong. Then a few days or even weeks into your program, life throws you some curve balls and you start putting your workout routine on the back burner. You realize you aren’t as motivated as you were in the beginning, and you completely forgot the reason you started in the first place. You are not alone! I too have fallen victim to that same cycle many times before. Working my 9-5 and also being a Business Owner means I have to get intentional with my exercise routine because of my daily workload. Since my time is split between the two, I can easily use fatigue as an excuse not to work out. I’ve done that many times in the past. I finally got to the point of wanting to know what completing an exercise program felt like, because I already knew what it felt like to quit one. In this post, I’m going to share with you 5 Secrets to Running Your First 5K and what it taught me.

But first, let me point out a few statistics for you:

“African American women have the highest rates of being overweight or obese compared to other groups in the U.S. About four out of five African American women are overweight or obese.”
MinorityHealth.hhs.gov

“95% of people who start a weight loss plan with friends complete the program.”
nbcnews.com

1. GROWTH IS OPTIONAL

I’m a big fan of John C. Maxwell’s teachings and one of the things he talks about quite a bit is growth vs. goals. Some of the things I’ve learned from him regarding this comparison is:

Goals help us to do better but growth helps us to become better.
To make the shift from goals to growth, you need to find inward motivation.
If you shoot for goals, you’ll achieve your goals but you may not grow. If you shoot for growth, you’ll grow and you’ll achieve your goals.

I’ve grown so much over the last 8 weeks as a result of my 5K training which I just completed today! *Insert hand claps and high-fives* One of the biggest things I’ve learned is just how much power I had within me to complete the program all the way to the end. Because I tried and quit the program on many occassions, I could have chosen to quit it this time around. Especially when it got tough and became intervals of only running, with no walking during week 5. Because I looked forward to my feeling of accomplishment and how much healthier I would be, those were my driving forces behind why I couldn’t let myself down again.

2. STRENGTH IS MENTAL

I used the C25K Trainer App and it made all the difference in my progress. Had I not used this app, I wouldn’t be writing this post because I probably wouldn’t have went through my training. Once I got in my rhythm and I was 100% in, I never looked back. There were some days when I would wake up and didn’t feel like running, but my mindset had shifted so much. Even on the days when I didn’t feel like running at all, I still pushed myself to do it. Before this program, if I didn’t feel like working out, I wouldn’t do it and that was that. This time around, my “why” was stronger and my mentality was being shifted so me not doing it, hurt me more than doing it. When it was no longer a challenge for me to get it done, I felt the mental shift and it was so real. It was something I had never experienced before as far as exercising is concerned.

3. IT’S A TEAM EFFORT

I didn’t have one particular accountability partner during this training. I had a handful of people that knew I was doing it and would provide me encouragement to keep going. They knew my previous struggles with completing it but they also knew my current motivation to getting it done this time around. Even on those days I didn’t feel like it, they still pushed me to keep going and they celebrated with me on days that I pushed through. They didn’t know they were my silent accountability partners. It was because of the internal commitment I made to myself, I was making a verbal commitment to them and they had no idea that was taking place. I knew that if I told someone, that would encourage me to keep going because I had put it out into the atmosphere and I had to make good on my commitment.

4. MOTIVATION MUST COME FROM WITHIN

As I said before, there were several days that I didn’t feel like doing it but my promise was greater than the process. Plus, I would rather have the pain of discipline than the pain of regret. Because it was my first 5K, I wasn’t as concerned with my finishing time. I was more concerned with actually building my stamina and completing the 3.2 miles at the end of the program. I would start out with my five-minute warmup walk, and I would have my music playlist on which would help motivate me even more. For some people, it may be a book, or a podcast. Whatever the case, it’s important to figure out what motivates you to exercise and let that particular thing encourage you while you’re working out. I have certain songs and artists that get me in my zone every time, and it’s not just one genre of music. I like a variety when I’m exercising because they each feed my mentality in different ways.

5. DOUBT IS A SILENT ENEMY

Another word for doubt is fear. Regardless of whether it’s doubt or fear, believing in either would have kept me from completing the challenge. If I had doubted my ability to complete it, like I had done on many times before, I would have never gotten it done. If I would have been fearful of the process and outcome, I would have scared myself out of completing it. Because I love a challenge, and I love to push myself in many different ways, I refused to let doubt or fear have control over me in this situation.

If I had to choose one word to summarize how this 5K training made me feel, it would be empowered! Because I successfully completed my first 5K (doing exactly 3.22 miles), it gave me the confidence I needed to keep running and even making this part of my regular exercise routine, even if it’s only a few times/month. Plus, I love the way my body has began to transform as a result of it. I welcomed the sore muscles because that’s what I like to call a pleasure pain. I could feel the parts of my body that were being worked. It takes time to develop a healthy habit and now I see why, because this habit was 8 weeks in the making for me.

My Apple Watch Results once I finished my 5K!

Do you have a regular exercise routine? If so, share at least one way you stay motivated in the comments below. If not, share one reason you don’t in the comments below.

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