27:35!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Yes, I felt that deserved some exclamation points. This morning, I ran the 5K race I’ve been training for – and lamenting over – all summer. My friend Val told me not to worry about my time. She said the adrenaline of the race and running with all those people would make me run faster. Was she ever right! As I approached the finish line, I almost couldn’t believe my eyes – I was still in the 27 minute range!
I crossed the finish line at 27:35, beating my previous best time by almost two minutes!! I know I was only competing with myself, but boy, did I ever whoop my own ass!
The race was down on the waterfront trail in Burlington, which is a beautiful run. The weather was hot and humid, with a steady rain for most of the run. Actually, I think the rain really helped, because it kept me pretty cool.
Mike and the boys ventured down with me to cheer me on. He took them to the playground at Spencer Smith Park while I ran. They waved to me as I trotted by, and when I was running back, about to cross the finish line, they cheered me on. It was enough of a push to keep going – I didn’t want them to see me slow down!
I was, however, struggling, particularly toward the end of the run. I couldn’t figure out why it was so hard, since I’d been running 5K for a few weeks now. Once I saw my time, though, I figured it out! I was averaging about 32:30-ish on my 5Ks this summer – which means today, I was running faster than I’ve ever run in my life. Maybe I’m not as sluggish as I think. And maybe I can do this marathon thing after all.
I know there’s still a long road ahead of me. On Monday, it’s time for me to reevaluate my training and start moving toward the next goal. I still need to conquer nutrition, I need to settle on a new training schedule and I need to figure out what I’m going to do about the gym/YMCA conundrum.
But for today, I’m just going to bask in the glory of my “victory.” I had a goal (to run my best-ever 5K), and I achieved it. I’m going to have a nice supper, a glass of wine, and take this time to relax. There’s plenty of time to get back to training on Monday.
Happy trails…
Saturday, August 25, 2007
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Panic on the streets of Burlington…
As race day approaches, I find myself panicking more and more. Try as I might, I can’t seem to improve my time on the 5K. I can’t even break 32 minutes, although I came in just over the 32 minute mark last night.
Part of the problem is I just feel like I can’t run that fast. When I push myself really hard, I run out of breath and am forced to slow down. Then I slow down too much, which affects my time. I know I need to do some more research on this, but with being away in Montreal last week, it’s been difficult. My best bet would be to go to one of the group runs at the Running Room, but since Mike has hockey tonight (when there’s a run), it’s not an option. And the next group run isn’t until Sunday – a day too late. The race is on Saturday morning.
So what do I do? First, I am going to give myself a bit of a break. I’m only competing with myself, after all, so who cares if I can’t beat me? I know that’s not really a “winning” attitude, but I only care about my time because I want to beat my own personal best time. It’s not like I even care if I come in last! (If I ran that 5K in 28 minutes, I’d be so happy, I wouldn’t care if I was 10 minutes behind everyone else!) I already know there are millions (billions?) of people in this world who can run faster than I can. (There are also billions who are smarter, better looking, make more money and have better behaved kids! If I cared about all those things, I’d never leave the house in the morning.)
I guess what I’m figuring out is that if I don’t beat my best time, it doesn’t really matter in the grand scheme of things. I know I’ll have sucky times on the 10K, the half marathon and the marathon too. The point is that I’m going to finish this race and continue working my way up to running a marathon.
Well, there’s probably a lot more for me to talk about today, but I’m overloaded with work and shouldn’t procrastinate any more. (I know… wasn’t I supposed to cut back on work this summer? Just wait until September!) I only wanted to fit in one more update before the race on Saturday.
Happy trails…
Part of the problem is I just feel like I can’t run that fast. When I push myself really hard, I run out of breath and am forced to slow down. Then I slow down too much, which affects my time. I know I need to do some more research on this, but with being away in Montreal last week, it’s been difficult. My best bet would be to go to one of the group runs at the Running Room, but since Mike has hockey tonight (when there’s a run), it’s not an option. And the next group run isn’t until Sunday – a day too late. The race is on Saturday morning.
So what do I do? First, I am going to give myself a bit of a break. I’m only competing with myself, after all, so who cares if I can’t beat me? I know that’s not really a “winning” attitude, but I only care about my time because I want to beat my own personal best time. It’s not like I even care if I come in last! (If I ran that 5K in 28 minutes, I’d be so happy, I wouldn’t care if I was 10 minutes behind everyone else!) I already know there are millions (billions?) of people in this world who can run faster than I can. (There are also billions who are smarter, better looking, make more money and have better behaved kids! If I cared about all those things, I’d never leave the house in the morning.)
I guess what I’m figuring out is that if I don’t beat my best time, it doesn’t really matter in the grand scheme of things. I know I’ll have sucky times on the 10K, the half marathon and the marathon too. The point is that I’m going to finish this race and continue working my way up to running a marathon.
Well, there’s probably a lot more for me to talk about today, but I’m overloaded with work and shouldn’t procrastinate any more. (I know… wasn’t I supposed to cut back on work this summer? Just wait until September!) I only wanted to fit in one more update before the race on Saturday.
Happy trails…
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
One day at a time
How do you improve your time for running a 5K? Well, you just…
Actually, I apparently have no idea how you improve your time! I’m incredibly frustrated with my running these days. I’ve practically abandoned both my training schedule of 10-and 1s (not to mention practically giving up spinning) in favour of running 5Ks straight through.
My best time on a 5K was 29:39, and that was my first (and so far, last) race in March. These days, I’m lucky if I run the 5K in 32:39. Most of the time, I’m falling somewhere in the late 32, or 33 minute mark. No matter how hard I seem to run, I can’t seem to break that time. (I’m hardly even hearing from my good buddy Lance Armstrong on my iPod anymore!)
I don’t know if it’s the heat these days, or if my energy levels are a bit lower, but I seem to be struggling a bit with these runs. I’m still huffing and puffing, particularly at the beginning of the run. I’d say I’m running at least three times a week (5K each time), and according to my Running Room training log, I’ve already run more than 32 K in the past two weeks. I’m still keeping up with the muscle workouts and doing the odd spin class – I really should be in better shape, right?
The ends of my runs tend to be much easier than the beginnings. When I hit the 3 or 4K mark, I could probably keep going for longer than 5K (albeit at my now-normal snail’s pace.) But the first few! I must look a fright running around my neighbourhood. I wonder if it means my endurance is better than my power/strength.
My 5K race is now a week and a half away. I’ve started to resign myself to the fact that I won’t be beating my best time for this race. I’m still running it, so that alone is a small accomplishment. And I’m going to sign up soon for the 10K clinic, which starts at the beginning of October.
This week I will have to work very hard to keep up with my training. We’re on our way to Montreal to visit family, and I know it will be tough, but I’m planning to run both Thursday and Friday morning. I won’t want to… I’ll want to sit around drinking coffee and chatting. But what’s a half an hour out of my day? With the race so close, it’s not the time to start slacking off, is it?
Once the trip is over next week, there are only a few weeks left in the summer and then things start to get really busy. I think when I get back, I’ll focus on training for both my upcoming race and the 31K Walk for Grace at the beginning of September. Once those two are done, I can re-evaluate my training and focus on the next goal. It’s just like running – one step at a time!
Happy trails…
Actually, I apparently have no idea how you improve your time! I’m incredibly frustrated with my running these days. I’ve practically abandoned both my training schedule of 10-and 1s (not to mention practically giving up spinning) in favour of running 5Ks straight through.
My best time on a 5K was 29:39, and that was my first (and so far, last) race in March. These days, I’m lucky if I run the 5K in 32:39. Most of the time, I’m falling somewhere in the late 32, or 33 minute mark. No matter how hard I seem to run, I can’t seem to break that time. (I’m hardly even hearing from my good buddy Lance Armstrong on my iPod anymore!)
I don’t know if it’s the heat these days, or if my energy levels are a bit lower, but I seem to be struggling a bit with these runs. I’m still huffing and puffing, particularly at the beginning of the run. I’d say I’m running at least three times a week (5K each time), and according to my Running Room training log, I’ve already run more than 32 K in the past two weeks. I’m still keeping up with the muscle workouts and doing the odd spin class – I really should be in better shape, right?
The ends of my runs tend to be much easier than the beginnings. When I hit the 3 or 4K mark, I could probably keep going for longer than 5K (albeit at my now-normal snail’s pace.) But the first few! I must look a fright running around my neighbourhood. I wonder if it means my endurance is better than my power/strength.
My 5K race is now a week and a half away. I’ve started to resign myself to the fact that I won’t be beating my best time for this race. I’m still running it, so that alone is a small accomplishment. And I’m going to sign up soon for the 10K clinic, which starts at the beginning of October.
This week I will have to work very hard to keep up with my training. We’re on our way to Montreal to visit family, and I know it will be tough, but I’m planning to run both Thursday and Friday morning. I won’t want to… I’ll want to sit around drinking coffee and chatting. But what’s a half an hour out of my day? With the race so close, it’s not the time to start slacking off, is it?
Once the trip is over next week, there are only a few weeks left in the summer and then things start to get really busy. I think when I get back, I’ll focus on training for both my upcoming race and the 31K Walk for Grace at the beginning of September. Once those two are done, I can re-evaluate my training and focus on the next goal. It’s just like running – one step at a time!
Happy trails…
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)