Saturday, June 19, 2010

Run the Good Race 5k

I've been feeling much more confident on my runs lately, so I signed up for the Run the Good Race 5k today and thought THIS will be the day I run 3.1 miles without walking! Close, but not quite. I also wanted to finish in less than 33 minutes. Didn't do that either.

It was 80 degrees with 75% humidity this morning, but I didn't care about that. I warmed up and stretched a bit to work off some nervous energy. Ross took pictures to entertain himself since he wasn't running.


The first mile was mostly downhill. I felt great and kept having to slow myself down! Mile one took 10 minutes and 17 seconds and it felt easy! I was scared, though, because I knew what goes down must come up.


The second mile was pretty much level, but by then I started to feel Thursday's workout as my quads tightened up. It was some rough going between miles 1.7-2.0 but I still felt strong. Ran it in 10 minutes and 54 seconds. I was on track for a new personal record (well, at least a new post-high school record)!

But that third mile was almost all uphill! By about 2.5 miles, my pace had slowed to 12:30/mile. I told myself I didn't care about time anymore, just to keep running. But by 2.75 miles, I disappointed myself by walking for about 45 seconds. My legs felt like bricks and I could see that it was all uphill to the finish line! I completed mile 3 in 11 minutes and 31 seconds.


And then that last 0.15 miles took me a minute and 47 seconds! During which some guy I'd passed a while back (he was walking) broke all runner's etiquette and started to jog as we rounded the last corner, cutting me off. He continued to swerve around in front of me, crossing the finish line about 5 seconds ahead of me, and then he STOPPED IN THE CHUTE! Blah. Not quite the victorious day I thought it was going to be. But I keep reminding myself, I've come so far!



My goal of running 3 miles without walking may not coincide with an official 5k, but it will come in the next few weeks, and it will be a huge confidence-boosting milestone!

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