Last Saturday I had the opportunity to run at the “Run for Women’s – Shopper’s Drug Mart” 5k race in Halifax. I say opportunity because I won two entries a month ago from Moving Comfort on Facebook. I’m not one to usually win online contests so when I got the email…on my birthday….I wasn’t sure it was legit.  Lucky for me, it was!

My friend Meredith was my running buddy that day and it was perfect as we both had not run in a few weeks, okay months. She ran the Bluenose Marathon 5k in May and I the Mud Hero in July (and we all know how well that went). I was putting off “training” for this run for no reason at all. I figured I could manage a 5k without much training. My family went on vacation and the run suddenly was fast approaching, it kind of creeped up on me.

The morning of the run I was up early to get ready. I had the help of my family to get the girls ready: my mom, dad and sister. My Dad and sister came to the run to take care of the girls while I ran – THANK YOU! I was really excited for my girls to see this event….well, more Lilly since Hilary is only 8 months old.

I struggled with what to wear for the run and went with Capri’s and my Sweat Pink Ambassador tank at the very last-minute. When I arrived, Heather Moyse – Canadian Olympic Gold Medalist in Bobsleding (Vancouver 2010) was giving a speech. To be honest, I hadn’t done all my research before attending. I knew someone was giving a motivational speech but forgot who it was until I arrived and then wasn’t able to focus on her speech because I was trying to keep the girls happy among everything going on.

We did a warm up and the 10k runners lined up and off they went. It was our turn next, so we lined up.  As the gun went off we started at the back of the group and slowly made our way through the shoot. We hit our first corner and there was a young girl, maybe 8 years old saying “Don’t forget, it’s just the 5k route NOT the 10k” … Meredith and I had a good laugh. The run was held in Shubie Park located in Dartmouth, NS – a perfect trail for such an event. Lots of trees and shade yet a sunny morning with the heat going up. There were a few inclines and one long steep hill to climb. When we got to the top there were 3 Osprey up in their nest … kinda cool to see and a good break at the top of the steep hill.

We ran at a nice slow yet constant pace and I was surprised to make it to 2k without any walking – that changed on the way back. I know if I would have trained better for this race I could have done a lot better but that’s not was this race was about. As we returned to the finish line we could hear the music pumping and lots of cheering going on. We crossed the finish line and got a High Five from Heather – that’s was fun!

I was pretty excited to see a picture of my girls, my dad who is super sporty and Heather. Lilly got to hold the medal and meet an Olympic athlete! How cool is that? I know Lilly and Hilary do not understand how big of a deal this is but I think it’s pretty awesome!

The reason I pushed myself to run in this event even when I knew I really should have taken a step back to keep things sane in my house, is because I want to expose my girls to being active. I want them to see me run, my husband run, my Dad referee soccer, other children and adults living a healthy lifestyle. Sports for me growing up kept me busy, gave me numerous friendships, enabled me to travel around my Province competing against others and has been something that is just in my blood, so to speak. It also directed me to the career I am in as a Regional Physical Activity Coordinator.

I want my girls to pursue their interests, their goals and to know that being healthy and leading an active lifestyle can be done …. even when you think you don’t have time for it.

I really enjoyed this event and am happy that email arrived saying I had won. I am planning on participating next year and am going to focus on fundraising for their mental health contributions.

I don’t do races for the swag bag, t-shirt or even the medal. Honestly, I like collecting the bibs! However, this swag bag or kit was full….I mean FULL of stuff and a pretty cool running t-shirt that I will wear over and over again.

Walking off the pain of running a 5k with no training in my Run for Women t-shirt and Lolë  Capri’s.

Have you ever won an entrance to a race before?

What’s your favourite take-a-way from a race?

Whats the best/worst kit bag/swag you’ve received?

Happy Running!

The end.