Good Run

Yesterday after work I finally had time to run with my sister. Her first 5k will hopefully be next Saturday at the Turkey Trot in Siloam Springs. I have been working with her for a couple of months now trying to get her back into good running shape. We have a route that we usually run that goes from La-Z-Boy fields and through downtown Siloam and back. It's a little over a mile on our normal route. Well yesterday I added just a little bit more just to see where she was at as far as distance running. We started off and it was a bit chilly outside and the sun was about an hour from setting. We did the reverse of the normal direction we would go. It's a little easier but still has inclines all through it. She did good and we were setting a pace of 12 minutes a mile. Not too bad for her and for her first 5k. I ran at her pace to keep her going which is what I do all the time unless I run by myself then I try to turn on the speed a little bit. I can get 9:45 a mile at a good pace. So her speed is a tad bit under what I'm used too but I know if I stick with her I can give her encouragement to keep going. No need to leave her behind. I told her on her first 5k, regardless of what time we finish it in, I will keep at her pace and not leave her. That way I know that she completed her first 5k without stopping. The next one after that may be a different story but at least I will know that she can go that distance.

So we got off Cheri Whitlock and started heading south on Mount Olive. This is the part where I thought she would need to stop. This is a gradual incline up to the Police Station. But at the top of the hill I looked back and she gave me the thumbs up signal so we kept going. We go down Broadway through downtown and I gotta tell ya, running through downtown Siloam is a great run. Especially now with the trees all different colors and the Christmas lights on, it's pretty nice. This was all downhill pretty much so I knew I didn't have to worry about my sister on this part or the rest of it for that matter. There was any real inclines just a few small hills on the La-Z-Boy trail back to the starting point. At this point we were at 11:45 a mile pace. We started talking about movies and while we were talking I heard my phone go off and it said that we had passed the 3 mile mark at a little over 35 minutes but I knew that my sister didn't hear that so I just let it go. Normally I tell her at each mile that pass. I wanted to see how much further she could go. We picked up the pace a little bit on the last quarter mile or so and when we finished I put my phone up to her ear so she could hear the distance. 3.50 miles in 40 minutes and 58 seconds. She was excited but then she asked if that was a 5k distance. I told her that a 5k is 3.1 miles. I told her we did 3 and a half miles! Way more that a 5k. If we had went a little over halfway around the track at the softball fields we would have reached 4 miles! She was stoked about it and said she could have went further but she didn't know how far we had gone yet. She said at only 1 point did she feel like she need a break but she pushed through it. Pretty cool if you ask me. I think she is almost ready. We will run this route again and again before the 5k just to make sure that she can go that distance consistently.

This just goes to show that some hard work and having someone there to help you along is a great way to accomplish goals. I have my wife and daughter there to help me along with my weight loss. My sister now has me there to help her along with her running. A little over a week and she will get the accomplishment of running and completing a 5k, barring any injuries or sickness. I can't wait to see the look on her face when she crosses that finish line. Now we just gotta register for this 5k! Hope I don't forget!!!

P.S. I am at 196 today. Cutting out snacks is helping a lot!