A clydesdale no more!

I debated whether or not to run this race because I have been telling myself for the past few months what terrible shape I am in. I am 10 pounds heavier than last year at this time and just have not been in a running groove for quite a while.  Since I'm trying to get a more healthy attitude toward running and not focusing on my performance so much I decided to run this race despite my fear of doing poorly.  Met Kathie at the start which was a nice surprise.  The course is accurate with no significant hills.  The only drawback is the 25+ 90 degree turns.  I thought that 19:30 was a reasonable goal considering the extra weight and lack of speed work. Lined up at the front with all of the high school kids and Tim (can't remember his last name but he runs 5k's in 17 min and usually wins this race).  The gun went off and I just hung back because I didn't want to take off too fast.  I was surprised how many people where ahead of me.  I didn't look at my watch at all and thought I was running 6:20/mile pace.  The pace felt good but I didn't have the desire to push it.  Hit the first mile in 5:57 with my HR at 161 bpm (first time I have worn a HR monitor during a race).  I was shocked at the split because it didn't feel that fast and I was still pretty far back in the pack.  During the second mile I could tell that my pace had slowed a bit but I started passing a lot of people.  Hit the 2nd mile in 6:11 and my HR was 175 bpm.  During the 3rd mile I just settled into a pace and couldn't find the desire to push hard.  There were a couple of runners ahead of me that I probably could have passed but I just didn't feel the urge to move to the next level of pain.  Third mile split was 6:15 and my HR was 178.  Finished the last 0.1 at 5:34/mile pace with HR hitting 181 bpm for a total time of 19:01.  Of course 18:59 would have felt a million times better but I was pleased with the outcome.  It is only 13 seconds slower than my time last year which surprised me.  Physically, I don't think that I'm too far off where I was the past couple of years it's just the mental aspect of racing that I have lost. I was nice to get a race in and past the fear of racing.

My legs feel pretty worn out from yesterday's race.  Kept the pace slow and felt lousy most of the run.  My right tibia is extra sore this morning.  I believe it is because my legs are not used to running fast and I tend to over stride a bit at 5k pace putting a little more stress on my lower legs.

I was dead tired this morning.  Not sure what the problem is.  I got out the door late and since I was so tired I decided to just put in a few easy miles.  I'm hoping that the easy run today will give me more energy tomorrow.

My legs are still a little dead but they are definitely improving.  I must be getting really old if a 5k can take that much out of me.  Just ran the usual 8 mile loop and maintained a consistent pace the entire run.  

I took my new racing flats for a test drive today.  I'm not fast enough to own a pair of racing flats but want to pretend that I am every once in awhile.  They were very comfortable and I liked running in them.  They are definitely shoes that I can only wear for races and speed work because my legs need more support for the majority of my miles.  It was a great run on the LPT this morning. 

Started with 7 miles at a snails pace before the club run.  Very small group today (only 4 showed up).  I ran the 5k course with Neil then meandered through the city then back home to get the miles in.  My legs were a bit sore at the start of the run (I think from running in flats yesterday) then felt better during the middle miles.  They started to feel heavy during the last three miles.  I guess that is all normal while I'm adjusting to the longer runs.