Run For the Health of It!

Several weeks ago Josh and I registered for a local 5k race. It has been so much fun to enjoy running together and what an impact it has made on our marriage.  What began as a way for me to improve my health and challenge myself has now become a way to stay healthy as a family and grow incredibly close as husband and wife!  Several days before the race we started discussing our 'plan.'  Would we run together?  If we did, what pace would we run at?  I've been stuck in a rut for quite some time with my pace and haven't been able to drop below an average of 11 minutes per mile and Joshua recently ran 5 miles with an average pace of 9:15, so I knew a compromise was going to mean I was going to have to speed up and get past this mental block I've had.  So after a lot of discussion we compromised on an average pace of 10:30 per mile.  He continued to encourage me that I could break through my average 11 minute mile.

Here's a picture of us warming up and getting ready to start.  I had been looking forward to this race so very much but it had so much more meaning after Josh's accident!  We are on this journey of life together and we are closer now than we have ever been.  To be honest, every time I've seen a fellow blogger post about a workout or race with their spouse, I too have had that same desire.  I never pushed or nagged Joshua to join me and the morning he decided to run with me was absolutely amazing and our marriage has never been the same since!

Back to the race...  we finally got started.  After the first 1/2 mile our app told us we were at an average of 9:40, which for me was going to be way too fast to maintain (or so I thought).  I've been running for a year now and am getting the distance thing figured out, but the speed issue has definitely been a struggle.  My husband makes a race/run so much fun.  He would dramatically slide around every turn, periodically run sideways and give me a high five when I needed a little encouragement.  After completing the first mile we were still averaging under a 10 minute mile and mentally I was starting to feel like I needed to slow down, but Joshua was not having it.  Every time I even thought about slowing down he would reach back, grab my hand and pull me forward to be next to him again.  We finished the 5k in 30:07 (average pace of 9:41 per mile) which is still not terribly fast but it was definitely a personal record for me.  Joshua could have ran so much faster yesterday but this race was definitely all about running together.  I'm not sure which one of us was more excited.  He finished his first race, helped me reach a goal that I thought was completely unattainable and we ran right next to each other the entire race!

I think we had the best kids cheering for us at the finish line too!  On our way home Miss Kylee asked if she could run next time.  We'll definitely be looking at a 1 mile fun run to do with her this summer!

The Dunamis Divas were represented at the race too.  These girls mean so much to me as they have been a part of this journey with me since the very beginning! Love these girls and so very proud of them!

Run for the Health of It 2013!  Love my Runnin' Buddies!!!

Blessings,

Krystal