Top Speed
Yesterday (the 25th): Happy Birthday, Aunt Sandy!
I've been fighting a cold for the past few days, but I woke up this morning feeling fairly well. After resting both Thursday and Friday, I decided to make an attempt to set a new personal best for a 5K run. For those not in the know, a 5K run is five kilmeters, which is about 3.11 miles. Prior to today, my best outdoor 5K run was at the Roma 5K last July (27:20.6). My best treadmill 5K mark is 24:58.
I set the "Virtual Training Assistant" on my Garmin Forerunner at a pace of eight minutes per mile, which translates to a 5K time of 24:51. If I could keep up with the little runner on the screen, I would be successful.
Mile One
I was out of the gate in a hurry -- perhaps too much of a hurry. I didn't realize it at the time, but for the first quarter mile, I was running at almost 10 miles an hour, which is a six minute per mile pace. I slowly settled back down into a reasonable pace that I could hopefully keep for the rest of the run. I reached the one-mile marker in 7:13. A NEW RECORD! This is the fastest mile I have ever run.
Mile Two
I continued south on 90th street almost to highway 11, turning around when I had about a mile and a half to go. I felt a cramp in my side starting to develop, but it wasn't enough to slow me down. I finished the second mile in 7:52. At this point, I knew that I had a lead of about a minute on my personal best. So, as long as I didn't "crash" in the final mile, I would emerge victorious.
Uh, what's a "crash"?
I don't know, exactly. It's a term I've read about in articles about running, and some of the runners I've talked to at the SCJ fitness center have used it. Apparently, a "crash" is when your body basically gives up, and you can't go much faster than an easy walk. Thankfully, I haven't experienced one yet.
Mile Three
I've run outside for the past few weekends. One thing I've noticed is that a strong wind blows from west to east. As I turned to head west back home, I was concerned that a strong wind might cause my pace to slow signficantly. The wind, combined with a slight uphill grade, can sometimes make things rather difficult. Today, however, was not a problem at all. There wasn't much wind at all, and the energy and excitement of breaking a personal record kept me going. I finished mile three in 8:02.
The Finish
When my forerunner read "-28 feet to go", I stopped the timer. I didn't really have an idea of what my final time was, except that it was definitely faster than 25 minutes. I switched the display to show the total time, and I was thrilled to read:
23:59.35 !!!
Could I have gone even faster? Maybe, maybe not. I definitely started too fast, so I didn't have much energy left for a burst of speed at the end. One thing's for sure -- if I keep exercising regularly, I'll be in good shape to break 23:30 at this year's Roma 5K in July.
I've been fighting a cold for the past few days, but I woke up this morning feeling fairly well. After resting both Thursday and Friday, I decided to make an attempt to set a new personal best for a 5K run. For those not in the know, a 5K run is five kilmeters, which is about 3.11 miles. Prior to today, my best outdoor 5K run was at the Roma 5K last July (27:20.6). My best treadmill 5K mark is 24:58.
I set the "Virtual Training Assistant" on my Garmin Forerunner at a pace of eight minutes per mile, which translates to a 5K time of 24:51. If I could keep up with the little runner on the screen, I would be successful.
Mile One
I was out of the gate in a hurry -- perhaps too much of a hurry. I didn't realize it at the time, but for the first quarter mile, I was running at almost 10 miles an hour, which is a six minute per mile pace. I slowly settled back down into a reasonable pace that I could hopefully keep for the rest of the run. I reached the one-mile marker in 7:13. A NEW RECORD! This is the fastest mile I have ever run.
Mile Two
I continued south on 90th street almost to highway 11, turning around when I had about a mile and a half to go. I felt a cramp in my side starting to develop, but it wasn't enough to slow me down. I finished the second mile in 7:52. At this point, I knew that I had a lead of about a minute on my personal best. So, as long as I didn't "crash" in the final mile, I would emerge victorious.
Uh, what's a "crash"?
I don't know, exactly. It's a term I've read about in articles about running, and some of the runners I've talked to at the SCJ fitness center have used it. Apparently, a "crash" is when your body basically gives up, and you can't go much faster than an easy walk. Thankfully, I haven't experienced one yet.
Mile Three
I've run outside for the past few weekends. One thing I've noticed is that a strong wind blows from west to east. As I turned to head west back home, I was concerned that a strong wind might cause my pace to slow signficantly. The wind, combined with a slight uphill grade, can sometimes make things rather difficult. Today, however, was not a problem at all. There wasn't much wind at all, and the energy and excitement of breaking a personal record kept me going. I finished mile three in 8:02.
The Finish
When my forerunner read "-28 feet to go", I stopped the timer. I didn't really have an idea of what my final time was, except that it was definitely faster than 25 minutes. I switched the display to show the total time, and I was thrilled to read:
23:59.35 !!!
Could I have gone even faster? Maybe, maybe not. I definitely started too fast, so I didn't have much energy left for a burst of speed at the end. One thing's for sure -- if I keep exercising regularly, I'll be in good shape to break 23:30 at this year's Roma 5K in July.
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