#5kMay2018 Day 30

One more day! One more day! One more day!

CONGRATULATIONS to everyone who has made it this far! What an accomplishment! Completion is a sure thing from here, right?!

I know that there are a lot of people who surprised themselves this May. Part of you thought you could maybe do it. Part of you thought, there is no way! Well, there was a way. You’re almost there!

Part of me is excited for this chapter to be over (my legs are really tired, and I have been doing a lot of slower-than-normal runs with my kids -I’m ready to run faster and further). Part of me also realizes that just because we are coming to the end of #5kMay2018 doesn’t mean that we have to be done running consistently. If this challenge has been good for you, keep going! Last time that I started running at least a 5k every day in the month of May, I ended up running at least a 5k every day for 399 days in a row. I would have continued, but I traded my daily (at least) 5k out for marathon training. My new goal was to qualify for the Boston Marathon.

I did qualify for the Boston Marathon. I beat the qualifying time for my age and gender by nearly 3 minutes, but it ended up not being enough to get me in to the Boston Marathon this year. That was disappointing, but I knew that I had run my best race possible (at that time) and I knew that I had reached my goal.

This year I was hoping to qualify for the Boston Marathon (with a smashing time of 10 minutes under my qualifying time) at the Kentucky Derby Marathon in Louisville, KY at end of April. Unfortunately, it was not my day and I did not reach my goal. Had I reached that goal in Kentucky, I was going to use this #5kMay2018 to start a new (at least) 5k every day until I hit at least 500 days in a row! But that goal is not to be.

This year’s “5k Every Day in the Month of May” ended up being more of a “recovery month” for me. In June I will take a few days off and then get back into marathon mode. I am aiming for my 3 hour marathon in mid-September! Hopefully next year, on the heals of running the 2019 Boston Marathon, I will begin my 500 days in a row journey.

How about you? What is your next big goal? If you don’t have one, form one. You never know what you are capable of until you just go for it!

Speaking of going for it, tonight our three oldest daughters (age 8, 9, and 11) came along with Jodi and me to the Wooster Running Club. Most of the group ran 6 miles, but we decided to rock a 5k. And they did it! They were awesome! We ran 3.1 miles (seemingly all uphill) in 30 minutes and 54 seconds, which was an average pace of 9:57 per mile.

I am very proud of my girls (my lovely bride included) for their hard work and accomplishment during #5kMay2018!

For the past thirty days, we have also been reading about the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. We have read all four accounts from all four gospels. Jesus lived, died, and rose from the grave four times in the last thirty days. I think the number one thing that stood out to me today as we finished the gospel of John and read the first chapter of Acts is this: I never grow tired of hearing the story!

The life, death, and resurrection of Jesus is the greatest story ever told, that is hardly ever told! As we move into the book of Acts, may we be encouraged and inspired by the disciples who boldly proclaimed Jesus to anyone around them. Their efforts changed the world! Could we be so bold as to believe that our efforts today could do the same?

Part of you may be thinking we could maybe do it. Part of you may be thinking, there is no way! Well, there is a way.

You never know what you are capable of until you just go for it!

*5k Every Day in the Month of May 2018 is brought to you by Jeff Polen Music and Vertical Runner of Wooster. If you are joining the fun, don’t forget about the Facebook group, the Strava group, and the printable PDF.