A year ago at this time I was on the couch with a broken arm and broken leg after getting hit-and-run by a car on Christmas Eve. While I lay on the couch, January 1st of 2021, my neighbor Cathy ran the “First on the First 5K” for me.
Today, we ran the race together on a wet morning.
825 people had nothing better to do on a New Year’s Day morning but to gather in the rain and run three miles through Westerville neighborhoods.
I spent 2021 recuperating from the accident. During the last year I didn’t keep track of how many miles I ran or how long it took me to complete them. I just tried to work my way back.
Today is the beginning of being back. It was not a particularly fast run, we averaged close to 11:00 minute miles. My weight is 30 pounds more than this time last year. But I strapped on my Garmin watch for the first time in a long time and took the first steps to being back as a runner.
We were hoping to set a new PR for Cathy but missed that by 20 seconds (making the last mile uphill didn’t help that).
It rained so much I couldn’t see out of my glasses, but it is good to be back.
I am not sure what races I will run this year. COVID has made organized, in person races uncertain. But today I begin the journey of running 2,022 miles this year–only 2,019 to go!
Perseverance Runner 