My SECOND 5k

Heartland 5k, post-race

I ran/walked my second 5k yesterday morning, the Heartland Half-Marathon/5k in Jasper.  I had four goals, pretty much the same as the goals for my Catfish 5k in June.

1. Run the first mile.  FAIL - I started off too fast to keep running for a whole mile.
2. Run at least half of the race.  FAIL, I think.  But my walking pace was faster.
3. Run through the finish line.  SUCCESS - I'm pretty sure I ran the last half mile.
4. Improve on my 43:07 time from the Catfish 5k.  SUCCESS, barely.  Finished in 43:00.  ***UPDATE***  We got the official results today.  I actually finished in 42:51.  Woohoo!

I never felt comfortable during this race.  Could have been the rain.  Could have been the 0500 wake-up.  Could have been the fact that I think my running shoes are hurting my feet (even though I've only had them a month, I'm definitely replacing them!).  Who knows?!  But before it started, I couldn't wait for it to be over.  And several times during the run I wondered if I'd even finish in the 40's.  I wouldn't have been at all surprised to find out that I was a good ten minutes over my previous finish.

But once I finished...AND found out that I had bettered my time...I was on cloud 9!  And I definitely plan to do another one in the future.  Not sure if I'll find another one in the local area before winter.  But that won't keep me from training.

***UPDATE***
Okay, since I initially posted this, I've been invited to run three more 5k's this fall.  Not sure that I'll do them all, but I want to do at least one!

1. The first one was actually an advertisement in the goody bag I received at the Heartland 5k for the First Annual Purdue Boilermakers Half-Marathon and 5k.  It's in West Layfayette on October 20th at 8am.  I think Stephanie and I are seriously looking to do this one...since she's a Purdue grad and all.  The only thing is, it's pretty far north for me.  But we'll work it out.  Just waiting on the go ahead from Steph before signing up for this one.
2. Then I got word about running with the Scouts on Sept 15th.  That one is only two weeks away.  But it's much more local, at the Martin State Forest at 8am.  I need to decide on this one pretty soon.
3. Then I got word about the Dubois County Humane Society 5k in Jasper on September 29th at 7am.  What is it with Jasper doing their runs so darn early in the morning?!  I have until the 15th to decide if I'm doing this one.

Let me know if you're at all interested in running with me/us.  I'd love to have some company...at least at the beginning and the end.  I promise not to hold you back during those middle three miles.  : )

My First 5k!

I did it!  I ran my first 5k!  It went pretty much as I expected.  It was hot.  At times, it felt like it lasted forever.  I had to push myself harder than I thought I could.  And I still finished pretty darn close to last.

But I'm okay with that.  I finished!  And I burned more than 400 calories.  Not to mention, I did a heck of a lot better than all those people who didn't even show up! 

I had four goals.

1. I wanted to finish the race.  CHECK!
2. I wanted to run at least 50% of the race.  CHECK!
3. I wanted to run the entire first mile.  CHECK!
4. And I wanted to run through the finish line.  CHECK!

All goals met!

I had plenty of cheerleaders that helped me along the way.  That was SO COOL!!!  And a huge shout-out to Becky Lingenfelter who came back and ran the last quarter mile or so with me AFTER she finished it.  Thank you SO MUCH!!!  I'm pretty sure I would have walked part of that last leg without her.

Catfish 5k pre-race (Linda, Stephanie, me!)

Thank you also to fellow 89er Stephanie Mangin for the brilliant idea to train for and run this event and Linda Wickman who did a GREAT JOB and even scored a plaque for her efforts!

I think we're already planning for our next 5k in September.  Who's with me?!

Fitness: C25K

C25K, or Couch to 5k, is a running program to get folks from sitting on the couch to running a 5k (or 30 consecutive minutes) in just 9 weeks.  C25K uses an alternating run/walk process.  In week One, you run just 60 seconds at a time.  By week Nine, you'll run 30 minutes at a time.

Keep in mind that even if this program is too aggressive for you, you can still work it.  If you're not ready to move on to the next week, don't...just repeat the current week.  Sure it'll take you longer than 9 weeks.  But it's still going to happen much faster than if you stayed on the couch!

I am training to do a 5k the first weekend in July with a good friend.  I've been running some, more than 60 seconds at a time.  And this is the second time in a year that I've tackled running.  So, the first week or so should come fairly easily.  But perhaps that will give me the boost I need to stick with it for all 9 weeks and run that entire 5k in just under 3 months.