I think I remember how to run. This is the first real fitness test
I've had since I "seriously" started training after my mediocre
performance at the Turkey Trot. I've been following a real training plan
and have been continuing to lose weight so I was excited. This is the
fastest and biggest winter 5k in the area, and probably the biggest race
between the Turkey Trot and the St. Patrick's Day run. It gets about 600
runners and the winning time is usually sub 16.
I know the course since it's near the University and on roads I
frequently run on. The weather was nice, about 25 and sunny.
My Goals were as follows:
sub-7min/miles- If I don't hit this, I'm quitting running and taking
up being a sloth
sub 21 minutes- My real goal, I’m aiming for this
sub 20 minutes- My super special goal.
I lined up in the front and we were off
Mile 1 in 6:25- OMG we are going fast
Mile 2 in 6:50 – This is much better, hold your place and keep going
Mile 3 in 7:02- Holy god, I’m going to puke and die.
Finish time 20:48 (6:41 min pace)
Overall 30th and 3rd in my age group!
Once we got settled after the first ¾ of a mile I held my position and
picked off people up until the last ½ mile when 2 people I was running with got
away from me. The last ½ mile was a
struggle and I really had to push. Surprisingly,
my age group was soft this year and I ended up with 3rd. Other years you’d need to run sub 19 to get
it. I was happy with how I ran and made big improvement in just 2 months (an equivalent
5k to my turkey trot run would have been 22:05). I should probably do some longer speed work
so I don’t continue to explode in the last 3rd of my race, but I’m
not going to push it too hard too early.
If I can keep this up, I should be running sup 18 again in no time,
especially once I get to my goal weight of 160 (I’m 180 right now).
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