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Monthly Archive for May, 2007
Yesterday I did a quick run/walk around the nearby park.
I covered 2.80 miles in 33:38 (12:00/mi pace) with an average speed of 5.0 mph and a max of 7.3 mph. Each lap around the park trail was 0.52 mi. First lap was 4:53 (9:26 pace), and the second was 5:41 (10:51 pace).
All total, it was about 2.0 miles of running and about 0.80 of walking with a little running in the middle. It certainly doesn’t sound like much, but it really wore me out. I think I was (is?) still tired from the weekend.
Saturday was the Rocket Run 5K in Spring Grove…
Start time was 8AM, so I was there about 45 minutes or so before that. That gave me enough time to sign in and pick up my race packet, including a t-shirt and my first “bib”:
I ended up being about half-way back in the pack of 104 runners at starting line. Honestly, I was so wired that I barely remember the beginning of the race and have no recollection of the gun going off. Before I knew it I had made the turn and heading up the first major hill. My plan was to burn some of my excitement by attacking the hill, and that’s exactly what I did.
By the time I made the next turn and began the slow descent down the other side of the hill, I was starting to get in my groove:
The rest of the race went far quicker than I anticipated. Before I knew it I was looping the Intermediate School parking lots, and then heading back for the last lap through the housing development. As I made the last turn to come back down the original hill, I tried to pick up the pace as much as I could. One last turn and I was crossing the finish line:
Official time was 30:27.04, putting me in 59th place out of 104 people. According to my Garmin Forerunner, I covered 3.22 miles in 30:46 (9:32/mi pace) with an average speed of 6.3 mph and a max of 9.1 mph. My 1K split times were: 5:43, 5:54, 6:06, 6:04, and 5:48.
So, I didn’t exactly exceed my goal, but I’m happy with the results. I went from barely being able to run a single block without wheezing and gasping for air, to being able to run a 5K in just a few months… and actually had fun doing it!
I’m not sure what’s next, but I think the Dover Double Creek 5K might be involved…
Tomorrow is the Harry Smeltz, Jr. Rocket Run for Scholars. It’s a 5K run/walk , starting at 8:00 AM.
Back on January 1, 2007, I set my goal:
This year I plan to enter with the goal of completing the course in less than 30 minutes (9:39 pace). If I can do that, it’ll be the farthest and (for the distance) fastest I’ve ever run in my life.
Well, tomorrow is the test.
I think I’m ready.
After being delayed a day due to rain, I was finally able to do a test/dry run of the Rocket Run 5K race course. It was a warm, sunny day; definitely the warmest weather I’ve run in up to this point. Excluding one wrong turn, it didn’t go too poorly:
Total distance was 3.11 miles in 34:07 (10:58/mi pace). Average speed was 5.5 mph with a max speed of 7.2 mph. My times for each 1K were 6:31, 6:24, 6:44, 7:14, and 7:09. As you can tell, I was losing steam during the final 2,000 m.
I’m taking tomorrow off to rest. Race is Saturday at 8:00 AM.
Got rained out after after work, so I wasn’t able to do my test run on the 5K course. Instead I ran after work on my normal training route.
Total distance was 3.11 miles in 30:01 (9:39/mi pace). Average speed was 6.2 mph with a max speed of 9.6 mph.
Not bad.
Yesterday’s 5K run came in at 32:46 (10:33 pace) which isn’t bad. I intentionally took it slow and felt pretty good afterward. So far the new shoes seem to be quite comfortable.
Tomorrow I’ll be doing a test run of the actual Rocket Run race course:
Hopefully that will give me an idea of where all the hills are, allowing me to at least have some form of strategy for Saturday.
After mowing the lawn, I went for a run with the full intention of doing a 5K in under 30 minutes (9:39/mi). Unfortunately, between the heat (about 70+) and not having run in a while, it didn’t go as well as I anticipated.
I ended up doing 2.33 miles in 22:05, for a 9:28 pace. Now, by itself, that’s really good for me. But I just couldn’t do the whole 5K, so I walked the rest.
I think I have a lot of work to do between now and May 19.
Up to this point, I’ve been running a pair of Nike Air Alvords that are meant for trail running. That’s probably not the best plan, considering I only ever run on roads/pavement. So tonight I bought a new pair New Balance MR720 running shoes, and some nice, cushioned Under Armour socks.
I did a quick run of a tiny bit less than a mile just to test them out, and they seemed pretty good. It wasn’t a huge difference over that limited distance, but I’m hoping that over longer distances they should be a little kinder to my knees/feet.
Weather permitting, I plan on doing a relaxed 5K tomorrow after work.
Recent runs that I never got around to posting:
-
3/12/07 - 3.11 mi in 32:26 (10:26/mi)
3/14/07 - 1.00 mi in 7:52 (7:52/mi)
4/2/07 - 3.11 mi in 35:15 (11:20/mi)
In other news, Nate ran his 5K and was awesome. Up to this point, having completed the C25K program, I was really slacking. Seeing him stick with it has really motivated me.
Starting this week, I’m back on track!