This St. Patrick’s day weekend, I had the awesome experience of going to a 5k. While most people over 21 would not see a 5k as a celebration of St. Patrick’s Day, it was something I would not forget.

Back in January, I made a decision to take my health more seriously. And what better way to motivate myself to train than to sign up for a 5k?

January was off to a good start, until I got into the thick of school and Mother Nature paid a visit. That derailed me for about a week or so. Which turned into almost all of February.

Once March rolled around, I thought all I need to do is just make sure I run a few times before the race so that I make it through. And I told myself, after talking to one of my sorority sisters, that I could finish the 5k in an hour.  Did I run/jog/walk leading up to the 5k? No. Did I still think I could do it in an hour? Yes.

So on Saturday, March 17th I woke up at 4:30 am ready to get to the 5k. Luckily, my mom and brother came along with me for support. Shout out to them for coming with me so early in the morning. I didn’t eat that morning and in hindsight maybe I should have had something more sold. Not that anything bad happened to me physically, but food is the body’s energy source.

We arrived at Dodger Stadium around d 6:20 am and after waiting for a while in our very warm car, we went to check in.

From that moment on, the 5k became real. I was so excited to get out onto the course and just be with everyone. So this led me to checking my phone every 10 minutes to see if I was getting any closer to the race starting at 8am.

Leading up to the start, the energy just climbed. At 6:45 am, the energy level was at a solid 6 or 7. But by the time it was less than ten minutes to start, the energy level was at a ten. I was so pumped to go out to the course by then.

Then the race started and I sent through the hills around Dodger Stadium, finishing out the 3 miles in an hour and three minutes. Which means I did exactly what I wanted to do.

In case you do want to run a 5k, here are some things I recommend:

Even though I did not run the whole 5k or even one mile, I felt so good just being part of something so fun like that. And I look forward to doing it again. But this time with more running under my belt. All in all, the morning was so much fun and I totally recommend that everyone do a 5k race. It was full of moments where I had to tell and convince myself to do something I didn’t particularly like. Turns out, I actually listen.

-Joss