Yesterday hubs and I participated in The Mayor’s Challenge, a free 5K for the people of Nashville. It was the third annual event and our third time to participate.
It was a really cold day. I wanted to stay home where it was toasty, but hubs really wanted to go. Two weeks ago when I got home from the Viva la Diva (I served on the race committee), I realized that sometime between Thursday night and Saturday afternoon, all of our laundry had miraculously been washed and folded. So if hubs wanted to do the Mayor’s Challenge in the freezing weather, that’s what we would do. And I only mentioned 20 or 30 times how cold I was. What a trouper I am!
The rule of thumb for running in cold weather is to dress for temperatures 20 degrees higher than the actual. That way, once you heat up from running, you’ll be fine. While I dressed for that, I wasn’t dressed for standing around for an hour waiting for the race to begin. I was freezing.
Which brings me to my Motivation Monday.
I started in the back and walked/jogged the course. As I was nearing the 1.5 mile mark I was walking up a hill. I saw in front of me someone who appeared to be an Achilles athlete. He was walking very slowly, using trekking poles, and his coach was walking backwards just ahead of him. As I passed him I read his shirt and he was indeed with the Achilles organization. I gave him a pat on the back and an “Attababy, you’ve got this.” He EXCITEDLY told me this was his sixth 5K. I responded that he was an old pro now and I wished him a great race.
Until I spotted that incredible athlete, I was focused on how cold I was. But once I saw that young man’s face, radiating with pure joy at participating in his sixth 5K, I decided to quit the mental whining and be happy that I am healthy enough to enjoy the active lifestyle I live.
And that’s exactly what I did.
482gr8 