Photo By Texas Military Forces

Pre-holiday goal setting – sign up for a 5K

Pre-holiday goal setting – sign up for a 5K – I’ve been inspired! I am going to sign me and the family up for a 5K run this holiday season. Heck, I may do two or three of these short 3-mile races while I’m at it. OK, so maybe I won’t go that far. But I will do it.

This is a big step for me because I’m simply not a fan of running. I never have been, and in fact, this will be my first 5K experience. But wait Karma, aren’t you a health and fitness coach? Shouldn’t you live for this sort of stuff? Yes, but there are many ways to ‘skin a cat’ when trying to achieve your fitness goals.

My goals, which have been outlined often in my blogs, never included running long distance. Ewwww.

But I’ve softened on that as of late. Having an event on the horizon — such as a 5K — is a great goal because it provides a temporary deadline and intensified focus to your training. For example, knowing a big race is coming up can force you to run outside when the weather isn’t so great. Or better yet, energize you on those early mornings when you might ordinarily hit the snooze button a few times on the alarm clock.

Like all exercise, running regularly can improve your cardiovascular functions, reduce body fat and give you numerous mental health benefits. With a healthy diet added in, look out! During this time of year, they are particularly helpful when trying to avoid — or offset — the annual Thanksgiving turkey coma!

So what is a 5K? In short, it’s a long-distance road run … but one that only goes 3.1069 miles. Trust me, I looked it up. That distance alone — it’s not like we are training for an ultra marathon here, people — makes it one of the shortest and most common road running distances for novice or infrequent runners.

They look fun for the entire family, and competitive enough to give you an incredible high when you cross that finish line. And they are everywhere!

A quick search on http://www.dfwraces.com shows there are an eye-popping 12 races on Thanksgiving Day alone within 50 miles of Dallas. Some, like the 7th Annual Grub Run, are in Fort Worth, but others are right here in our backyard. Those races include the Double Oak Turkey Trot 5K & 1M Fun Run and morning Turkey Trots in Castle Hills and Denton.

Of course, the big one is the Dallas YMCA Turkey Trot at Dallas City Hall Plaza. From Black Friday through the end of the year, there are 59 more races in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. If you are outside of the DFW area, do a quick google search and find a list of 5K’s near you!

If I’ve peaked your interest, please don’t feel overwhelmed. Think of a 5K as an entry point on your journey to a healthy lifestyle. You don’t have to set yourself up for failure by setting unrealistic goals, either. Just run to have fun.

Crossing that finish line will give you a renewed faith in yourself that you can accomplish anything. Pre-holiday goal setting – sign up for a 5K

Thanks for visiting!

Photo By Texas Military Forces