Training for the Wildflower 5K

I have just returned from taking a break in activities and visited some family and friends in Northeast Texas. The house we own is across the street from a park. The area around the park is roughly a quarter mile in distance and is on a slight slope. That means one side is an easy downhill and the other side is a gradual uphill. The reason for mentioning this park is that in the spring the town has a Wildflower 5K Fun Run and Walk. Last year I wanted to take some photos of the race for my article when I came back to San Marcos. On the day of the race I found out it was a point to point course with the start and the finish 3.1miles apart. There was no way I could get a photo of the start and make it back to the finish line to catch the lead runners. I am not sure what I was thinking at that time as I had not entered a race for too many years, but I walked up to the registration table and entered the race. A bus ride up to the starting line was next. There were about 150 runners and walkers entered in the race. I was not in good running shape but thought I could walk 3.1 miles. I recalled races we have here in San Marcos and a number of walkers finish in about 50 minutes to over an hour. I set my goal to finish in under one hour. One of the organizers said that it is basically a downhill course with only a few gradual uphills. I got in the back of the pack and took off at the starting gun. I needed a good pace per mile to finish under my one hour time prediction. Feeling good along the way, I tried some slow jogging a few times. This was especially true when the downhill segments were in front of me. Needless to say I did finish under an hour by several minutes and being in an upper age group – I think I was the oldest runner in the bunch – I was awarded a second place in the over 70 age group.

After the race I thought next year I will train more and get a better time. I am not sure why I even thought of entering the race next year, but if anything it will get me out the door and put some miles in to get in better shape. The park was a perfect setting for a training location. Nice scenery, close to home, and the downhills were good to do a little jogging and the uphills helped build up my leg strength. Between the trips around the park and walking/ jogging the hills around my neighborhood here in San Marcos, I hope to enter the race next year and finish in a faster time. I won’t be as fast as in my running days, but it will still be fun to enter the race. When you are in the last upper age bracket the chances of placing in your age category are pretty good. And as runners always say, “I can always use another race tee shirt.”

For variety I altered my walking around the park to include some diagonals across the park. There were sidewalks to make it easy to do and with Christmas just a few weeks away there were Christmas trees decorated and a few other decorations. There is a spring that runs through the park so when you walk or jog across the park you have a nice scenic bridge to cross. The house we own is in a nice neighborhood and a few of the walks ventured out to see the town. There are an abundance of trees in the area and after only a block or two it made for some nice change of scenery. And since the main part of town is only two blocks away, it made it easy to get a little extra walking in to visit the library or grab a bite to eat. On Tuesday evening at a Mexican restaurant there is a country band playing and that is a regular visit. The only problem is after eating a big plate of tacos and rice and beans, the walk uphill back home is a little harder on the breathing.

Now the goal is to keep training until April next year for the Wildflower 5K. It has been some time since I have trained for a run. Most of my walking and lifting weights has just been for maintaining fitness and staying healthy. My knees are lacking a little cartilage and since I am not a light footed runner even back in running days I have to take it slow. But, maybe with enough training I can do a slow jog for the Wildflower 5K next year. I might have to get the bike oiled up again and get some aerobic training and leg strength to help out. You would think that after 70+ years of lifting weights, running marathons, and going on 60 mile bike rides on a regular basis that maybe I should retire and enjoy sitting out on the lawn drinking coffee and watching people run by or walking their dogs. I guess a person never stops looking for another challenge.