At least 7.2 miles this morning (maybe a little more?) in 51:43. I wanted to run a 5k time trial before I moved, and despite feeling exhausted from packing and moving all day yesterday I decided to run the time trial today because it was the last chance I would have before I leave on Monday morning. I ran about 2 miles to the lake from where we are staying temporarily and after a trip to the bushes I started the time trial. I ran a full figure 8 around the lake, which I have measured on the blog course tool at 3.13 miles. A cyclist passed me just after the start and I latched on to draft. It got me started faster than I had planned, but it did not feel too hard. After about a quarter mile I passed the cyclist and then pushed on alone for the rest of the time trial. I timed a 1.5 mile segment in the middle of the time trial in 8:38. I knew that I had started faster than that pace, and I could tell I was slowing down even more. I wished that I was in a race with people to compete against to help compensate for my lack of speedwork longer than a mile, and my general lack of fitness due to low mileage, plus the fatigue from moving, etc. As I got about a quarter mile or so away from the finish, I was able to find the strength to speed up some, and I finished in 17:53, which would give me approximately 17:45 for 5k. Overall, I'm happy with the time and effort. It gives me a good benchmark on which I can gauge future improvement, even though I will probably never get back to where I used to be. | 