Back on the Roads!!!
Race Reflection: Big Blue 5K 2025—Not my first road race in 2025, but the first one I have really felt fully healthy for.
Returning to the Roads: Big Blue 5K Recap
I was planning to start this post by sharing my thoughts on my Shamrock Weekend Race, but I realized I never wrote a post-race reflection for my 2025 Shamrock Weekend experience. It was my first race since September 2024, and had no real expectations going into the weekend—aside from having fun with the running community that was gathered. At the time, I was deep into my 40 days of devotionals, and I probably figured it best not to overwhelm your inbox.
But truthfully, now I still don’t feel the need to revisit Shamrock in detail. Not because it wasn’t a good race—it absolutely was, and I surprised myself with the progress I had made. But this race—J&A Racing’s Big Blue 5K—felt like my real return to the roads.
It was the first race I actually made a plan for, trained for, and showed up mentally prepared for. That last part, especially, meant a lot to me. I was fully sold on having a solid day on the streets, sidewalks, and fields of Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia.
Of course, feeling solid and racing solidly are two very different things. Luckily, I went in with low time expectations. And in what some might call a rough outing, I ended up having one of the best days I’ve had in a long time. I regained confidence. I rediscovered my ability to run—not just run, but move at a decent pace—without pain in my Achilles or my back. (Seriously, when am I not dealing with some kind of injury?)
My A Goal for the race was simple: finish pain-free. ✔️
With a goal like that, finishing time became almost irrelevant. A successful race wasn’t about the clock—it was about how I felt. That doesn’t mean I didn’t push myself. I gave it what I had, meter by meter. But when I needed to walk (mostly due to fitness, not injury), I didn’t beat myself up. I was still achieving what I came to do, and showing off what fitness I did have in the process.
I finished in 29:49—about 10 minutes off my PR and 7–9 minutes slower than my pre-injury fitness. I’m not sharing that to boast, but to offer some perspective on “the journey.”
The Nonlinear Path of Running
We often wish our running journeys were linear. We tell ourselves: If I run, I’ll get faster. The more consistent I am, the better I’ll get. And while there’s some truth in that, those statements can overlook so much—especially the reality that the only truly linear thing in life is the calendar.
Being a runner means living in the tension of mountaintops, valleys, plateaus, and everything in between. Our journeys are more roller coaster than straight line, shaped by work, family, and—perhaps most frustratingly—injury. (I’m this close to calling injury the “Dreaded ‘I’ Word.”)
Expecting every run to be “better” than the last ignores the ebb and flow of life. Yes, the days may tick by in a neat order, but what we experience in those days rarely follows suit.
Right now, as I ease back into consistent running and emerge from yet another injury, I’m choosing to celebrate where I am. My goals are based on this season of life, not some idealized version of myself.
Here were my goals for the Big Blue 5k:
A Goal: Finish pain-free.
B Goal: Just finish.
C Goal: Don’t end up at the doctor.
And you know what? Hitting that A Goal often meant that the B and C Goals followed (as they normally do). They’re there to give grace when conditions—whether environmental or personal—aren’t perfect.
Heading into race day, I was intentional about not setting time-based goals. That’s just not the season I’m in right now. Would it have been cool to run a 26- or 27-minute 5K? Sure. But my true test of fitness wasn’t time. It was how it felt to race again—to hit the roads with a few thousand other people, just like I love to do.
Running Forward with Joy
What I’m learning—again—is to embrace the nonlinear nature of the run. To center myself in the moment. To know my abilities, accept my reality, and respond accordingly.
Do I hope to PR again one day? Absolutely. I’d love to break all my previous times from the 5K to the half marathon (most of all including that sub 1:30 half marathon). But that’s for another day—another season.
For now, I’m basking in the joy of a fun and fulfilling race day with my RunSomeMo and J&A Communities. I’m grateful for a year that tested me deeply—mostly off the roads—but helped me come back stronger in spirit.
Next up: summer training. And let’s be real—summer running in Hampton Roads, Virginia, is the worst. But I’m embracing it. My fall goal is to race more, show up for community events, and be more present as an ambassador for the running community I love.
In the meantime, stay connected and keep following the journey.
Have a topic suggestion or podcast guest idea? Send it my way.
MAKE EVERY MILE COUNT!
Run Build Grow Latest
This latest episode of Run Build Grow, features Denver native Abiye Okuchaba. As I reflect again on his journey, I see that non-linear nature of running showing itself. Take a listen as he talks about the highs and lows of his journey as a runner.