Going into it, I had no idea how I would run. I have slowly been getting faster since I started back running in May, but not by that much.
In May I ran 5 times and averaged 12:52/mile for 12.84 miles.
In June I ran 11 times and averaged 12:39/mile for 26.11 miles.
In July I ran 12 times and averaged 12:19/mile for 27.79 miles.
So far in August I have run 11 times and averaged 11:53/mile for 28.68 miles.
Mid-month I was able to complete a two mile run at a 11:03/mile pace which had me pretty excited that I almost ran under an 11 minute mile. All this to say....I'm still pretty f*cking slow. So I didn't have high hopes for the day since the last time I ran a 5k distance it was at a 12:29/mile pace and that was just earlier this month.
Spoiler alert- I did much better than I thought I would! I had some nervous energy (as I always do) so I started off faster than I should have. I ran the first mile in 10:15 which according to Nike+ is the fastest 1 mile I have ever run while using the app (first run was on May 19, 2008 with the app!!). Of course as soon as I heard the app tell me that, I was then worried about the next 2.1 miles.... I stopped at every water station and every .5 mile I took a brief walk. My next mile was 11:06 and my final 1.1 miles were finished in 10:54. I even had enough in the tank to sprint the final .08 or so when a woman tried to come up beside me.
Final chip time- 33:18
Overall finish- 157/341
Gender finish- 50/166
Age group finish- 11/26
Average pace- 10:42/mile
YAY ME!
I'm pretty excited about that somewhat-respectable average pace. I know that I am never going to get down to the crazy people that run 8 minute miles but maybe if I work hard enough (and lose some weight) I can start running in the 9s? And of course this had me more excited to run the upcoming 5k with my co-workers next month. I'm so weird and so competitive for no reason. My boss and a friend of mine at work are both runners and for pride reasons, I need to run a respectable time, even though they are much faster than me. I know that long distance running is NOT something I excel at...my body is made for power and sprinting. But I do feel as a former Division 1 athlete in two sports that I need to do at least an okay job to "prove" that I am still a good athlete. This probably doesn't make any sense to anyone else but me, but I do put pressure on myself when doing anything athletic that I am not allowed to look like a dope. I'm weird.
Anyway, now that I know I can run a bit faster, hopefully I can do more of that in my training runs so that I can run even faster next month!
4 comments:
Congrats! That's an awesome time! I've been running again and I hope to get an under 12 min mile when its race time.
Congrats! That is a great time! And I love that you are now motivated to run more to get even faster. I am hoping to get running again next month once I am back at work and somewhat in control of my schedule.
This is a great start! I'm not sure I could run a 5K in that time!
That is awesome! Good for you! I know EXACTLY what you mean about being competitive (even if it's only with yourself) and not wanting to look silly. As someone who's always been a pretty good athlete, it's very hard for me to so NOT be one now. I'm sure you've said this before, but I'm really curious what sports you played in college?
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