This Saturday, I participated in and finished my first 5k race. Never mind that I came in second to last. Never mind the sharp pain shooting through my seemingly ever-expanding hips. It felt nice to finish something.
Naturally, since I’m involved, that meant the entirety of the race was accomplished during a thunderstorm. I’m not talking about a nice Georgia thunderstorm but the rolling thunder of the Midwest. The race spanned almost the entirety of my tiny hometown here in Iowa and took every ounce of willpower I had to finish.
For those of you who are more active than the rest of us, you already know a 5k race is five kilometers, or just over three miles. You also know the value of training beforehand. These are concepts that are fairly new to me, so I’m aching all over and trying to psych myself up to attending the annual Coal Miner’s Day festival going on in the town square now.
OK, so maybe walking and not running three miles is a little less than impressive. Maybe my husband does that on — at the very least — a weekly basis. But I’m five months pregnant, so cut me some slack. I feel really winded after walking from the couch to the bathroom to deal with my morning sickness each day, so a 5k is a pretty big accomplishment.
I guess what I’m trying to say is that it’s good to keep going. In the military life, you’re bound to hit little snags — for example, a ridiculously long delay on the closing of the house you’re purchasing or way too much time away from your spouse to remain some semblance of sanity during your pregnancy — and it’s important just to keep moving, even if it’s storming outside and even if you finish second to last.
Just keep moving forward, and it’ll all be worth it in the end.