By Amy Pelz
At the beginning of this month, I decided to run the Lemont Freedom Run 5k. In the past I signed up for other 5k’s, but never ran them. This time, I had my co-worker with me for mutual support. It was perfect because it was convenient and I had never done one before, so I figured, why not? I didn’t really know what to expect going into it. I was definitely nervous and had a little bit of anxiety. I hadn’t really been practicing for time. I’d just go out on a couple leisurely runs here and there. So, this race was just another workout for me. Or so I thought.
My first mile was clocked in at 6:40. I felt pretty good and was keeping up with the leading pack. My second mile was a little slower and my last mile I managed to pick up the pace a bit. Just as I’m nearing the finish line, I hear “Go Pelz!”. I look over and it’s my track coach from high school. That got me through the last leg of the race. After I crossed the finish line, a girl who I ran with in high school walked up to say hi and say that she thought it was me running up ahead.
My co-worker suggested that we look at the results. It turned out that I placed 1st in my age group for female runners. I had a final time of 23:00 and some odd seconds. What a feeling! I was so proud. After not competing for 13 years, it felt amazing to know that if I put my game face on, I could really make something happen. That just goes to show that all of my hard work with Bill and Forward Fit is paying off. I truly am in the best shape of my life. I have my medal proudly displayed at my desk. Hopefully, there will be more 5k’s or other races to run in my future.