To do a 5k or not?!?!

This past weekend my Sister in Law invited me to participate in a local 5k Race on Thanksgiving Morning. Well I thought sure why not but quickly started having doubts. For one, I’m not a runner. I do like to run occasionally but I don’t exercise daily. The second reason I’m unsure about doing it is because last year I was diagnosed with Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. Since getting diagnosed it’s been hell trying to get well. I was sick 3 almost 4 months before one of my doctors thought to test for this. I believe since I was sick so long that my lungs were damaged. I went to see a Pulmonologist who said I had mild asthma, but I didn’t believe this to be true. I don’t wheez and I don’t have a problem catching my breath when I take a break..I just get short of breath very easy. Like I can’t walk up a hill without getting very short of breathe but if I stop at the top give myself 5 mins to focus on taking deep breathes I’m ok. The problem is all my chest xrays are fine, so Asthma seems like the right diagnosis..I still say YOU’RE WRONG. Oh! Almost forgot, the last reason I’m a little worried to do it is the cold. I have Raynaud’s phenomenon and when I get outside in the cold I lose feeling in my hands and toes and let me tell you, it’s the worst feeling in the world! I hate it when my fingers and toes are numb!

So anyway, those are the things holding me back from registering. Part of me really wants to do it because I think it would be fun and it would be something out of my comfort zone. Not to mention, I really want to start exercising more to see if I can build my lungs back up to where physical activity doesn’t make me short of breath. Towards the end of summer I was up to running 2.5-3 miles with no problem..so I know I can do this!

Image Source: News & Record

So here’s the details. The race is called the Greensboro Gobbler. It’s a 5k race at Greensboro Country Park.  The course is heavily wooded with rolling terrain.  The 5k course is 2 loops inside of Country Park. Kelly, my sis-in-law, says she plans to do a brisk walk and maybe some jogging. Sounds easy enough right! Guess we’ll see.

How do you prepare for a 5k Race that is 2 weeks away?