5k Run at Sixty One

 

Back in October of 2020 I wrote an entry called Run For Your Life. I shared the amazing health benefits of running a mile every day. I also shared that i really wasn’t a runner. It was just never my thing. But I had done a 5k run or two. I even ran 8 mile runs a couple of times. But the last time I had done any running aside from chasing my son around has been some years ago. 

 Seeing that my son is into MMA, I have been teaching him the importance of conditioning. We have attended a few MMA events and I would point out the fighters that would start out great, but would be gassed out by round two. When it comes to teaching my son things I am not just about telling, I am more about showing, leading by example. So after a three to four year hiatus we hit the local running track a few times over the summer of 2025. Nothing grueling, just a few 400 meter laps and some sprints. As the fall hit and winter crept in, I introduced him to the treadmill at our local gym. 

 I was basically walking at a good pace on the treadmill like 5 to 6.5 km/h with 3 minute runs at 10.5 to 11 km/h. The 3 minutes being the length of fighting rounds. We did this for about a month 2 to 3 times a week. Once I started hitting the gym by myself starting about a month ago, I began doing 5 to 10 minute runs with walking in between usually for 30 minutes. So that would be 2 to three running bursts. 

 Yesterday for whatever reason I woke up around 4am with the thought of running a straight 5k on the treadmill. I have never run 5k on a treadmill before. As I drank my morning coffee I researched running 5k at 61 years old. AI was giving me all these tips but they seemed a bit limiting to me. It was saying For men aged 60-69, the average 5K time is approximately 40:50, while for women it is 49:10. A "good" time (top 30%) for men over 60 is around 36 minutes. I said challenge accepted. 

 I pretty much ignored all the advice AI was giving me about preparing to successfully run 5k at 61. It suggested running at an incline of 1%, I chose 2%. It suggested running at 8 to 8.5 km/h I started at 9 km/h and slowly ran it up finishing the final minutes of my run at 10.5 km/h which got me a finishing time of 32:40. 

 For not having run a full 5k in years, I shocked myself. For not being a regular runner and finishing in what is considered the above average category was a huge achievement. I accomplished this by more mental preparation than physical. I went to that gym determined to prove AI wrong as far as I was concerned. I have long ago come to understand how powerful our minds really are. Unfortunately a majority of us have been conditioned with limiting thoughts. “Experts” will say this or that, and we take what’s being said at face value. This is unacceptable to me. I am the captain of my vessel, and the master of my fate. 

 I love challenging myself. I challenge myself near daily. It keeps things fun and exciting. If I fail a challenge I set up, i stick with it until I prevail, then I move on to the next one. I share these challenges in hopes of inspiring others. One of my favorite quotes is "The best thing you can do for a person is to inspire them. That's the best currency you can offer: inspiration" ~Nipsey Hussle  Thank you for reading.