Running in Life's Slow Lane

3.26 miles in 42'04" for a 12'54" pace.

Finally got a run in this week. Good thing as I run the Tough Enough 5K on Saturday. I ran from the house south and west along the section boundary roads which have a few gradual inclines. Nothing too killer which was good since I hadn't run in two days. Plan to do the same types of runs for the rest of this week to avoid any big strain on the legs ahead of the race.

Looks like getting my 5K in under 40'00" is still going to be a challenge.
 

3.42 miles in 44'16" for an average pace of 12'56".

Originally I didn't see a way to squeeze a run into the afternoon's busy schedule yet the knowledge that the 5K was coming up on Saturday forced me out onto the streets while Kristoffer had choir rehearsal at the church. I ran in tights and long sleeves so my body was warm while the tips of my fingers suffered the stings of a chilly sundown. Glad I got the run done because the weather for Thursday is predicted to be horrid.

My Nike+ sensor is complaining about a low battery. Apparently you cannot replace the battery. You have to buy a new $19 sensor. The batteries are designed to last about 1000 hours and I know I have not been running 1000 hours since Christmas. Unfortunately any movement can set the sensor into service so riding in airplanes, through airports, up and down stairs in the suitcase has probably kept my sensor fairly busy. In the future I need to remember to "turn off" the sensor after each run or definitely while packing for a trip.

Guess I will have to visit the Best Buy or somewhere similar in Chesapeake to get a new sensor.
 

Walked 0.2 miles, jogged 1.5 miles and walked the rest

The bitter, cold, vengeful gale that can only come in the grayest times of winter served notice that as much as I may wish to run, the forces of nature can tear the desire from my aging body. The weather forecasters said the windchill was 21F but it drove straight into the bone thanks to gusts at 30+ mph. I finally gave up after 1.5 miles of struggle and walked back home.

No running today. My hips and lower back were a bit tired from my push against the wind yesterday and I have my first 5K race tomorrow. Decided that I would just let everything get a full day of rest. Tomorrow at race time they are predicting a windchill of 19F. What is up with that? I don't live in Idaho, Montana or anyplace that should have races in this sort of weather.

As expected the hills kicked my butt.

Mile 1 - Not bad since it was a downhill stretch and a turn up Main St. I got stuck at the start behind a bunch of walkers and had to work to get up to a running pace but once I did it felt good to let gravity pull me out of the pack. The real runners were far ahead of me and the walkers were a bit behind. This mile finished with a turn into a gradual long climb.

Mile 2 - This was the mile of hills. The long climb started in Mile 1 continued and I was puffing quite hard when i hit the top. The course had only a block before it turned to a shorter but steeper hill. My lungs needed to catch up and I walked up the hill and ran down the other side right into another steep hill. Walked and ran through this one too.

Mile 3 - This was mostly downhill to give up all the altitude achieved in miles 1 & 2. Again I opened up my stride a bit and tried to let gravity help out. One final hill at the 2.75 mark took us up to the level of the finish line and I slowly trotted up it. It was a straight slow incline to the finish line. I was going to make it!

Just as I was closing in on the finish line a college aged man passed me. For some reason this irritated me and I picked up my pace to keep up with him. He heard me coming and increased his pace. At that point I took it personally and began sprinting. My strides were huge and my arms were pumping when I raced passed him. He tried to pick up his pace to match mine but fell back about 100 feet short of the finish line. That was my personal victory of the race.

The clock read 39'40" as I crossed the line. Just short of my 40 minute goal.

They had a nice free brunch after the race and I pigged out in the warm cafeteria. I stayed for the awards announcement just hoping to hear where I placed on the overall rankings list. They never reported any times from any of the winners and I was completely shocked to hear my name announced as the 3rd place winner in the 40-44 category for men. I can only guess there weren't too many men in that age category running the race. Whatever, I was happy to accept my little bronze medal to make my day extra special.