As the great Hilary Duff once said, “Let’s go back / Back to the beginning.” I’ve officially laced up my running sneakers again and hit the pavement to train for an upcoming 5K race.

Now, if you’ve been here for a while—well, since 2018—you know that I run. Or “run” as best as an exercise-induced asthmatic can. This should be like riding a bike for me. (At this point, riding a bike might be easier.) I used to run hundreds of miles a year, and I have my fair share of t-shirts from past races. But here I am, staring down the track at my old high school, wondering what I’m doing.

I ran one 5K race earlier this year in March, and since then, I can count on one hand how many times I’ve run. We can blame seasonal allergies and summer in New England for the lack of miles. I decided to sign up for the Hartford Marathon 5K race in October; this will be my first time running this race, and Josh will be going with me for support—and to drive me into the city.

I knew I would have to train for this race, so I put together a half-baked plan outlined in a Google spreadsheet that started in the middle of August and goes right up to race day on Saturday, October 19. There is absolutely no way I could fully run the entire race, so I’ve accepted my fate of running and walking the course. Which is fine! That’s how I ran the majority of my past 5K races.

This marks week 4 of training. I’ve been heading over to my old high school in town to use the track; when I first started running six years ago, I’d use the same track. I figure, for starting back out again, that it’s a good way to measure my distance—it helps that I can see the start and end of the track—and I know almost four laps around is one mile. And there are port-a-potties nearby. (Folks, you never know.)

My old high school, which closed in 2016, is still being used as a town rec facility; the building is used for adult education and summer camps, while the fields outside are used by a lot of town and travel teams. When I’m leaving the track to go home, parents are dropping off their kids for football practice on the town team. And other people use the track, too, either for walking or running. I head over right after work (it’s about a 10 minute drive) and leave around 5:30 p.m., so I don’t have to worry about the sun going down or being there when it’s dark (my mom’s main concern).

As for how the actual running is going? I mean, it’s going. I’m putting one foot in front of the other at a faster pace than what is considered walking. In between laps, I’ve been walking about 100 meters (as marked on the synthetic track, or basically the length of the football field inside the track) just to catch my breath. I’m not super worried about my overall time, but as long as I’ve been training, my times seem about the same. Slower than when I was in my best running shape, but the times aren’t terrible.

My goal for the race is to finish between 35 and 40 minutes; I looked at the results from last year’s race, and of the 1,800+ people who ran it, my projected time finishes in the middle-ish of the entire pack. (Of course, there are the gym class heroes who finish it in 15 minutes, while there are walkers who take their time.)

I keep telling myself that no matter what I’m doing, the runs I put in now will help. I mean, it’s better than not doing anything and going in October thinking I can run a 5K. I know I won’t finish first, and I know I won’t finish last, and I still get the shirt and other swag regardless (mostly because bib pick-up is the day before the race). This is a time to be easy on myself, stick to a goal, and know that my body can do only what it can.