5K race walk report -- I got hardware!!!!!

[Offthegrid]

Background: I started biking in 1999 or so, but gave it up after getting hit by a car in 2001. Got a bike again in 2004. Did a sprint triathlon in 2004, quit training in the winter. I did the minimum I needed to do to finish the sprint tri in 2005, quit training in the winter.

I signed up for a beginner's walking/running program for women in August 2006. When I started, I weighed more than 250 pounds and I couldn't walk a mile. After 4 weeks, we did a timed mile, and it took me 19:15 just to walk one mile.

I was so slow that I was dead last virtually every week. One time one of the instructors asked me if I got lost I was so far behind. But I didn't quit. I gradually started improving. At the end of the program, I finished a 5K in October in 47:15 -- 25th in my age group of 105 in the competitive walk division.

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Today's race: Jingle Bell 5K -- competitive walk division

This is a fun event because everyone wears jingle bells that make noise as you stroll along. I wanted to see how much I could improve from October. I had a goal in my mind to finish in under 44 minutes, but didn't know if I could do it.

I started out strong and really pushed myself. The course had some rolling hills. The only person who passed me on the course was a man.

I finished in 40:21! (4.6 mph pace, if my calculation is correct) That's a 7-minute improvement in less than two months. I was first in my age group, second woman and third overall.

I GOT A MEDAL!!! Me!!! I am still in shock. (Gee, I wonder what people would think if I wore it around the office Monday. )