Running again

Many ups and downs with running in my life:

I was a couch potato for 25 years, then ran my first 5k, then stopped for about five years.

I ran a half-marathon ten years ago, then repeated this every year for the next five years.

Five years ago I ran my last half-marathon, in San Francisco, which was my personal best time.

I thought I’d run a marathon after this (finally ?!), but I broke my leg in an accident after.

After two years I went for a basic 5k which was okay, and thought I’d ramp up again.

Then COVID happened and I stopped again.

This year I signed up for the first race I came across, a 10k, and then forgot about it.

I got a reminder a week before and realized I hadn’t done any sort of preparation for it.

I went anyway. It was embarrassingly hard, and I was at least 50% slower than five years ago.

I had terrible form, and my feet were aching, but it could’ve been worse, so I’m glad I went.

Now I can use this as an excuse to kickstart running again.

We’ll see where it goes.

P.S. this was the “Trailblazers” run, which happens along Stevens Creek Trail, which is a great spot in general. They have a 5k, 10k, and also walking and kids races, so there’s something for everyone. This time it started at the Microsoft campus and was pretty well organized. I recommend this as an annual event to try out, if you live nearby.