My 1st 5K post cancer treatments

I did a 5K today! My husband and my father were going to do the race. We asked my niece Lila if she wanted to run with me as this would be the only opportunity for me to run with her and want to take my time. We anticipated her wanting to do a lot of walking during the race so it would be perfect for us to get her into a 5K. She was unsure if she wanted to do the race last night but said she was going to do it. We woke up this morning and I gave her an option of not doing it and she looked at me and said "I want to do this!" Off we went to sign up. (I am loving race day registration this year.) We got on the starting line and she was next to me. We started together and she turned to me and said "Go faster Kelly!" I told her I couldn't but that she could go ahead without me. And she did! Within 100 meters of the start she was on her own! She had her grandfather in her sites though and she wanted to run with him when she couldn't run with me. She ended up running a 35 min 5K which is pretty impressive considering that she is 11, the longest she has ever run is 1 mile at a time, and we went for a 7.5 mile bike ride the day before! She did remind me at the end of the race that she beat me too! I am so proud of her! I also realized that I have done a great job not allowing my nieces and nephews to see me as sick. She just left me and wasn't concerned that I couldn't do this - in her mind, this was my normal thing to do. She has been complaining that I am really slow and should go faster on the bike and run. Joe has been telling her to remember these days when she can beat me because it will be a different story next summer. I am actually hoping she can keep up - I would love to bring her on longer rides and have a running partner when she is around! That would make me happy. I had not run more than 1.5 miles with the strategy of run 1/2 mile then walk until I get my breathing under control then run 1/2 mile before today. Today I ran 0.7 miles then walked 0.3 miles, then ran 0.7 miles then walked 0.12 miles then RAN the rest! I got to a point where my legs finally moved like they were running and I felt the tightness in my calves go away. I was actually running! I have been complaining that I am experiencing the same things I felt when I was a beginner runner. I can't remember how I dealt with them back in 2001 but I am mentally much stronger now and know what it feels like to be in great shape so I will work through these tightness issues with the knowledge that I can get back into great shape if I just keep at it. This knowledge that I know what I am capable of gives me an edge that most people don't have so I am very fortunate in that area. Today, I was not fast. The run was not pretty but I was just running. It really reminded me of a late stage Ironman marathon shuffle but it was not an Ironman, it was a 5K! I can tell you that in my past long distance athletic career, I hated 5Ks. They were too fast for me - it hurt the entire time because you had to push hard from start to finish. I hate that I have to be a beginner again and I am nowhere near where I want to be in the pack. I hated my pace. I hated that I was third from last at the finish. BUT... I am so very excited to know that I could/can do this! I questioned my abilities like I have done 7 other times (marathons and Ironmans) and numerous times in the late stages of 1/2 marathons while pushing my pace - "Can I do this?" But it came down to me mentally saying to myself "Yes, you can!" I went over how much this meant to me. I went over how this was easier than recovering from surgery and going through chemo. I went over the mantra I use in Ironman "Just keep moving forward". I knew how much I loved that I was doing this and that this meant that I was on my road to the hangover half on New Years Day which I was questioning as of last Wednesday. I know that I am on my way to my 70.3 next year and my 140.6 in 2014! This day means so much to me and I am very proud of myself! I feel dangerous right now because I feel like I can do anything I put my mind and heart into and I love this feeling! I am on my road forward to the time where cancer is in my past and I am getting back to my old life! This is how much running means to me. Running links me to what I was before and I haven't been involved in that world since March 14th. I am glad to have done this race where no one knew I had cancer and I could just slog it out but it made me realize how excited I am to get back into the racing world and see my friends out on the run instead of seeing them after they have finished. I get to participate again and I am excited! Although I am still working on kicking cancers ass through Herceptin weekly treatments, I am running again! Here I come!