BeltLine 5K, Saturday, June 26 – 57:35

The BeltLine 5K Race went well today... I finished with a time of 57:35. :) Woohoo!! ;) My previous times have been 1 hour; 17 minutes). So I'm very proud! ;) Especially given how little time I've had to train this week! ;(

Alisha was about 38 minutes (I think). ;) It was really fun!

The best part was today was a painless experience! ;) I stretched very carefully pre-race and had absolutely NO issues during the event (that explains my improved time)! ;) My new shoes are a great contributor to my fabulous experience today, too, I'm sure! ;)

Started out mostly towards the back of the crowd (which was very small, I'm guessing about 200 racers). Alisha and Sid were quickly gone and I found myself walking alone. Which is quite interesting. I'm finding I'm not a fan of walking alone too much... And since SGK doesn't allow headphones during the 3-Day, I'm training without such devices...

I enjoy a few minutes of quiet, alone time to reflect and gain inner perspective, but soon I get bored and begin to focus too much on how far I've gone and how much I have left to finish the race... I carefully keep my eyes peeled for every mile marker I pass and mentally "check".

This was my experience today until I near the 1 mile marker and look up to see a small kid standing there wearing a race number obviously waiting... Immediately, I wonder who he's waiting for and realize I'm quite a distance from the rest of the pack (both in front of me and behind me). And I think, "Yeah for me, I'm not last! haha" I wonder whether he's waiting for his mother or if he's decided he's "done" already... But I smile and say "hi" as I pass him and don't ask questions.

A few minutes later (maybe .25 miles later), I look up to see this same little boy passing me alone... So this time I ask... "Are you walking alone or with your family/parents?" He tells me his sister is ahead of him and his mother is behind him somewhere that he tried to wait for her but didn't see her, so he was moving on... We chat for a minute and I tell him he is welcome to walk with me for a while if he'd like... So he agrees! ;)

He tells me his name is "Malik" and he's 10 years old. His mom works for the BeltLine and she's doing this walk for work. He was very sweet and kept me quite entertained as we walked. Several times, his phone would ring as someone (mom or sister) was checking on him and I heard him tell someone he'd made a friend as was walking with her. ;) That made me smile...

We'd just made it past the two mile marker, when Malik tells me, "I don't think I can do this anymore! I've never walked so much in my life!" It was all I could do not to stop right there and fall out laughing! He was sooo funny and bless his heart, he meant it! ;) I told him he was my walking buddy and he COULD do it cause WE were gonna do it together! He promised to try... :) And by golly, he did it! And so did I! ;)

A walking buddy makes all the difference in the world. It puts a spring in your step and keeps you going... I want to thank my little buddy, Malik, for being here for me yesterday! ;) It was a good day!


Post race, Alisha and I walked the 1 mile back to the start line to get some extra walking in this week and then walked the park another mile or so before heading back home! ;) So, all-in-all, about a 5 mile day! ;)


Next week's Peachtree (10K) should be interesting in the heat... But I'm gonna try! My start time will be 8:55 AM (whew). Sure wish I was much earlier!