This 10K is dedicated to the girl from modified P.E.

Kevin and I accomplished a goal together this past Sunday by running a 10K race in Golden Gate Park! This was my first 10K and it was Kevin’s first 10K race in almost ten years! We decided to do the race about a month ago and started training by running about three miles 3-4 times a week. We pushed ourselves to run four miles and then five miles on subsequent weekends. Race day was my first six mile run EVER!

Now, let’s be clear, I am not a runner and never have been. While I have religiously gone to the gym for over a decade now, my workouts are not that strenuous and I have never called myself athletic. So, this was a big challenge for me. I was always one of the last kids chosen from elementary to high school for sports teams in physical education. Plus, in seventh grade, I was even in what they called “modified P.E.”. Most people don’t even know what this is. It was pretty much physical education for kids who couldn’t meet the requirements for stuff like running a mile, doing sit-ups, flex arm hang and stretching. We were pretty much a class of fat kids. For me, I dedicated this run to that adolescent kid who felt embarrassed to be with all the other fat kids in P.E. I proved that I could do it! Take that P.E. teachers!

My fear of falling so far behind in the pack and getting lost in Golden Gate Park didn’t even happen I was far from last and ran at a much faster pace than I have in the past. Don’t get me wrong, Kevin finished the race almost 15 minutes ahead of me. However, I expected to be as much as half an hour behind him. Check out our race results! By the way, its never too late to do a run like this. In the results, you’ll see tons of people in their 50s, 60s, and 70s (some who had much better times than me).

We even got these ribbons for the race. I felt so proud of both of us! We are already looking towards a 5K in two weeks and another 10K sometime this year.