Last March, I ran my first 5k race. It was a cold day and I didn’t know how my body would respond considering I hadn’t done any 5k training over the previous weeks. I don’t know why but maybe I thought I could just go out and run. Boy was I wrong. I felt pretty good for the first 2 km but then my fast initial speed started to take a toll on me. I was forced to slow down to conserve my energy for the big hill that led to the finish line. For my next 5k race I will be sure to follow a good 5k training plan. I will not make the same mistake twice.