A few weeks ago, the Oncology Nursing Society held their annual ONS Congress in New Orleans, LA. While registering for Congress events, I noticed that the weekend schedule also included a 5K Fun Run sponsored by Pfizer! I knew I couldn’t pass up the opportunity, so I signed up!

The morning of the 5K, I followed my usual early morning running routine – even though I felt a little rusty. Up until that point, I had not run (not even once) for a solid 7 weeks because of a knee injury.

I made it out to the start line and hung out with other Oncology Nurses until the race start. My goal for this race was to finish below 30 minutes (my 5K PR is right at 27 minutes). Easy, right?  Hah! Not having run for 7 weeks = not running in the heat and humidity outside.

Prior to the race start, the participants warmed up with a little zumba!

In line, ready to run!

The race course took us from Canal Street to the river front, down to Esplanade, then back. It was a beautiful course and I loved watching the sun rise! There’s something inspiring about an early morning run! :0)

Having grown up in SWLA, you’d think that my body would be used to 100% humidity all the time – definitely NOT.  I struggled to breathe the entire 2nd half of the race! My knee felt great – my lungs and heart, not so much. I slowed my pace down a LOT on the way back to the finish line.

However, I crossed at 29:32! I made my goal! :0)

Every finisher of the race received a ribbon which I in turn put on my conference badge! :0)

I also made a new friend during this race – she’s from Austin Texas and she’s currently training for her first Full Marathon! We spent a good portion of the day together and I’m so glad I was able to meet her!

Overall, I loved connecting with fellow running oncology nurses from all over the country! The race course was beautiful, the water was plentiful, and the post race goodies were great! It felt oh-so-amazing to run again!!

I would love to attend the ONS conference in Washington DC next year to participate in the next ONS 5K – we’ll have to see what the future holds! :0)