what a difference a 5K makes

by Stacy

At risk of sounding like a broken record (I swear, last mention — until next year?), I have to give another big THANK YOU to everyone who helped me raise $700 for San Hospice and the Institute for Palliative Medicine. It was their second year doing the fundraiser walk/fun run and there were over 1200 participants this year. Even though it wasn’t the hospice program my dad went through, it felt good to be a part of it.

Being a fun run, it was a fairly informal affair. The runners “lined up” at the starting gate first. People could register as individuals (what I did) or as part of a team. Some of the teams were companies, some were families, and all ages were represented. We were impressed at the number of younger kids who ran, and how quickly!

running families

The walkers definitely outnumbered the runners and started a few minutes later. The route took two laps around the NTC Promenade in Point Loma. Look at all the people!

san diego hospice walkers

Team Linda

In addition to families (I was quickly passed by a mom with two kids in a jogging stroller) there were also pets. Some of the pets are part of the pet therapy program run by hospice, including a therapy cat! Many dogs participated; my husband was particularly impressed with this leggy Great Dane:

san diego hospice walkers

My favorite pet sighting was before the run started. This bad boy didn’t do the walk, but he definitely made my day. The motorcycle is remote-controlled so he can cruise around with his owner.

this made my day

While I ran, I entrusted my camera to my darling husband who graciously got up early despite working late the night before. These are the photos he took that are not of my backside. Thanks, honey.

not a runnerclassic

My number seemed fitting for running in memory of my dad who passed away on 1/11/11.

Neither of us wore a watch and there wasn’t anyone officially timing, but we started about 8:30 and I was done about 8:59, so 29ish minutes it was! Running outside isn’t my thing so I struggled to pace myself. I followed some nice ladies for most of the course and it was a mite fast for me, but a good challenge and learning experience.

i did it!

Despite my sore legs, participation was absolutely worth it. I’ve heard a lot of hesitation over signing up for running events due to registration costs, but this one was free to sign up and any fundraising efforts support a wonderful cause.

The rest of the day was spent with a friend who was in town. We walked up and down the beach, all around downtown, and all over Balboa Park. Add in the biggest burrito I’ve ever eaten (it had french fries in it) and a trip to Extraordinary Desserts (hello, danish Parisienne) and you have a very full girl with very sore legs.

Have you ever run a 5K? Would you?
What did you do this weekend?

{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }

Kate April 4, 2011 at 6:04 pm

Awesome! I am signed up to do a 7k trail run in early May, and am SO excited about it. I’ve wanted to do a run forever, but just never committed to it. Your dad would be super-proud, I’m sure :)

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Stacy April 6, 2011 at 9:05 am

Yay! I’m so excited for you not only to be running, but to sign up for a race that you’ve wanted to do. :-)

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Kimberly April 4, 2011 at 7:17 pm

Good for you! I am very moved by the pictures of so many people walking and running for the hospice program.

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Stacy April 6, 2011 at 9:07 am

Thanks, Zippy. :-p
It was a heart-warming crowd, for sure. I think most people had a personal connection to the program as a volunteer or a family member of a patient, so it’s amazing how many people hospice touches.

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Anni April 23, 2011 at 2:43 pm

Congrats on running the 5k! (and on raising so much money!) I’m trying to convince myself that this is something I need to do, but I’m struggling to find motivation to get started… it’s been years since I’ve run consistently! I keep telling myself that the first few runs will be difficult, but after that I’ll find my groove. Any tips?

(Thanks for stopping by my blog and thanks for the welcome! So sad that your husband’s teacher took out his barrettes… I’m sure she had good intentions, but why discourage his creativity? Clearly his mom knew what she was doing when she let him wear them on picture day! Sigh.)
Anni recently posted..on gender identity &amp childrenMy Profile

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Stacy April 24, 2011 at 4:58 pm

Thank you! I was so touched by everyone’s generosity.

I’m not a runner, so anything I say should be taken with a grain of salt. Signing up for the race definitely motivated me to start running so that I wouldn’t be sore/terrible. I went to the gym with my hubby (left to my own devices I will not go, but if I told him I was going, I would). Feeling accountable to him and all the people who donated money was very helpful to me, too. Giving myself permission to go slowly helped, and telling myself I would just run for 5 minutes (by the time you get to 5, you can make it to 10, and if you do 10 minutes, you can keep going, etc.). It’s not running-specific, but also check out my health coaching site post about how to start exercising in just 5 minutes.

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sarah, simply cooked July 5, 2011 at 12:48 am

I don’t remember seeing this post before but it came up today in the LinkWithin suggestions when I was reading something else. I’m so sorry to hear about your dad. I imagine this has been a difficult year so far. Well done on your race. I have just started running a few months ago and am quite excited by it so far. Are you still doing some regular running?

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