10k Success!

Goal 1 - Finish the race - Did it!
Goal 2 - Beat my half-marathon time of 14.45 average pace - Did it! I finished the 6.33 miles in 79 minutes! My first mile had a 10.31 average pace. Lots of people and going down some hills probably contributed to that pace. The next two miles were in the 12's and the next three miles were in the 13's, but faster than 13.30. I wanted to beat 13.30 for an average pace and my pace for this race was 12.26! Awesome!
Goal 3 - Run the whole way - Did it! I ran and mainly walked the half-marathon and I really wanted to run the whole way for this race. This was the first time I've run 6 miles straight! It was slow, but I ran!!!

I'm looking forward to running around Central Park in early November and found out there will be a Turkey Trot at Woodward Park on Thanksgiving Day. Planning for that race next.

It's Time

The 10k is next Saturday and I think I'm ready for the race. Yesterday was another 5 miler and my time was significantly faster than last Saturday as I did the run with a 12.75 avg pace. My last mile was faster than the fourth mile, which is what's suppose to happen. I usually just get slower and slower. My foot is hurting a bit, so I hope that doesn't hamper me. I think it's because where I run, the road slants and my foot doesn't like that. So probably two more runs this week and then rest for the race.

Look what I found for next year's goal!! City to the Sea half-marathon! The race starts in San Luis Obispo and finishes in Pismo Beach. If they do the race at the same time every year, it should be October 9, 2011. What a perfect birthday present!

5 Miles

Today was a five mile run and while I'm getting more used to doing that type of distance, it is still a stretch for me to run that far. Last week's five miles seemed really hard and so I wasn't sure how today's run was going to pan out. Well, it was a good run, if you can say any run is a good run lol. I didn't feel so exhausted during the last mile. As I neared home I decided I needed to go a little further, so my "head" would know I can go past the five miles I've been doing as I'll need to do six in just a couple of weeks for the race. I ended up running 5.10 miles with a 13.23 average pace. I'm really hoping to run the 10k with a 13.30 average pace. Luckily the gps tracker I'm using broke down the miles, so I got a picture of my average pace for each mile. Mile 1 was 12.43, mile 2 was 12.38, mile 3 was 12.55 (starting to get tired), mile 4 was 13.58 and the last mile was 14.26. That last mile is my problem. I'm worried that if I add another mile and I'm slowing down even more, that my time will dip past the 13.30 pace. Although when I run with Camie my pace is much better, so I will project that running with her and my other peeps at the race, I'll be able to keep my pace up and finish at least a 13.30 average pace :)

This is probably not very interesting for most people to read I realize. A bunch of numbers and times and miles. Who really cares? Well, the thing is, I've never done this before. I've never had goals that take such a long time to achieve, that I've had to put such effort into them and that I've had to commit long term to them. This is new ground for me and things that I learn are transferring into other areas of my life. Sometimes the best thing you can do is just put one foot in front of the other and just keep going. Not stopping is the accomplishment. That's what I do when I run, one foot in front of the other. I appreciate those of you who read my blog and please leave a message every now and then. I like"hearing" from you.

Improvement, One Step at a Time

It takes time and distance to gain improvement in running and it's a good (and sometimes inspiring) idea to look back on previous workouts to see how far you've come.

Camie told me our average pace for our first 3 mile run on August 11 was 12.31, which actually means, she had a 12.31 pace and I had a 12:45ish pace. She's faster than me :) Since I downloaded the mapmyrun app on my phone, I've been tracking my runs and recording my times and I've gone from 13.35 minute mile (I run slower without Camie), to a 13.16 minute mile, then 12.24, 12.05 and last Wednesday we broke the 12 minute mile! I ran 3.5 miles with an 11.52 minute mile average (yes, Camie was faster)! Holy cow! Who would have thought I could do that?! Certainly not me. I guess that just goes to show you, don't say you aren't able to do something until after you have put forth time and energy in achieving the goal. When I ran the half-marathon in June, my time average pace was a 14.46 minute mile. I'd say I've made huge leaps so far in my training. I'm very happy and proud of that accomplishment as running is not something I've done all my life or is even a natural occurrence for me. You know I'd rather be sitting on the couch reading a book lol.

The Hunger Games

Suzanne Collins' trilogy that begins with The Hunger Games is a disturbing, but compelling series that has the reader rooting for the heroine, Katniss, who against all odds is able to win at the Capitol enforced Hunger Games. Together, with Peeta, she is able to return to her family, but her tenacity and determination inspires a revolution and change comes to their world. This is a great young adult series that could spark interesting conversations on the media's influence, how social norms in society occur and the value of life among other topics.

Count Down

Three weeks until the Smokey Bear 10k at Bass Lake! I'm running three miles pretty well now, but it's so much better when I run with Camie. The run just goes by faster, I go faster and I go further! I still love being able to see my time and distance results on mapmyrun.com. It's so cool and I found out it can break down my speed for the different miles. I'm really excited by the gains I'm making in my pace. Randy started running outside this past week and he's doing a 10 minute mile! Wow! The dude is totally quick! My goal would be a 12 minute mile. I can start out at that when I run with Camie, but as I near mile three, I begin to slow down. I'm hoping for a 13.5 minute mile or better at Smokey Bear. We'll see :) It's all good anyway.