Second Annual Margo Donadio Memorial 5k

I finally ran my first 5k!!  I was so nervous, I have no idea why.  I just wanted to do my best.

I am very happy with the result - second in my age group!!  And second only by 3 seconds!  Pretty exciting stuff, my time was 25:11.

The finish!

The lovely Husband was there to take photos and to cheer me on.

After the race, always posing!

Hurrah!  A medal that not everyone gets!

Part of my cheering squad

And, to Starbucks after!  What a great way to start the day.

mmm... Starbucks to finish off the morning

Overall I am very impressed with how my running is going.   I don't know if I could have done the race this fast a year ago, and now I just want to try to get faster! 

My Garmin said it was 3.06, and that I ran it in 25:05... A little off, but it doesn't matter!

Split	Time	Distance	Avg Pace
Summary	25:05.3	3.06	8:12
1	8:09.8	1.00	8:10
2	8:24.8	1.00	8:25
3	8:06.8	1.00	8:07
4	:24.0	0.06	6:40

13.1 miles

Just got back from my long run.  Wow - it was tough!!  This is the farthest I have run since January.  It hurt!  And it got hot!  I think it started at 72F and finished at 82F - with close to 100% humidity.

pretty morning views during the run

my hill - the bridge

Split	Time	Distance	Avg Pace
Summary	2:09:48.3	13.10	9:55
1	10:38.3	1.00	10:38
2	9:59.2	1.00	9:59
3	9:44.8	1.00	9:45
4	9:48.8	1.00	9:49
5	9:43.4	1.00	9:44
6	9:47.0	1.00	9:47
7	10:00.9	1.00	10:01
8	9:50.5	1.00	9:50
9	9:45.7	1.00	9:46
10	9:43.1	1.00	9:43
11	9:58.0	1.00	9:58
12	10:01.0	1.00	10:01
13	9:53.3	1.00	9:53
14	:54.2	0.10	8:57

I said I didn't care about speed, so I am actually very happy I averaged under 10 minute miles.

I was feeling great for miles 9 and 10, on mile 11 it started:  My mind was saying stop.  My legs were saying stop.  Somewhere in me I found the will to keep going.  At around the 12th mile I was over it, saying 'It's ok, 12 miles is fine'.  Then my competitive side kicked in and said 'Just make it to 12.5, what's another five minutes of running?'.  Then at 12.5 I knew I had to keep going.  I'm happy I made it to 13.1 - half a marathon!!

I think this will be my last long run until the Tower of Terror - it is in less than two weeks!!  It is good to know that I will be on my legs for at least 30 minutes less than what I just ran!

the garmin lives!

My Garmin decided to live!!  Thankfully.  I am addicted to my Garmin.  I did my first treadmill run in about 3 months because I am in love with it so much.

This, however, was not on the treadmill.  My 5 mile tempo.

Split	Time	Distance	Avg Pace
Summary	42:49.0	5.01	8:33
1	8:45.8	1.00	8:46
2	8:36.2	1.00	8:36
3	8:34.3	1.00	8:34
4	8:27.0	1.00	8:27
5	8:23.5	1.00	8:24
6	:02.2	0.01	5:50

Pretty happy with that run.  It was tough, but I got faster with each mile.  Not sure how I do it, I didn't look at my watch that much during the run.  I think twice, once when I reached mile 3 and I saw I was running 8:34 a mile, and then another time when I checked my pace and it said something in the 8 minute mark... Not sure what though.  I definitely think the speed work on Thursday helped me out.  I will try my best to keep at it!

last few runs

I have had a couple of good runs the past few days.  

3 mile SpeedWork (on Treadmill)

0.5 miles @ 6.1 (Sort of a warm up, though I did a small jog before)

0.25 miles @8.2 (interval)

0.2 miles @6.0 (recovery)

0.25 miles @ 8.2

0.2 miles @ 6.0

0.25 miles @ 8.5 (decided to bump it up to 8.5)

0.2 miles @ 6.0

0.25 miles @ 8.5

0.2 miles @ 6.0

0.25 miles @ 8.5

0.2 miles @ 6.0

0.25 miles @ 8.5

0.1 miles @ 6.0 (I had to make it to 3.1 miles!)

It was tough towards the end, but I could complete it.  8.5 is a 7:04min/mile, and I kept it at a 1% incline.  I think I will do this again next week, then maybe up my intervals to 0.3 miles.  

Dinner tonight - homemade pizza!

I could live on pizza

I also did a 5 mile tempo run yesterday.  It felt hard, but it was good.  Pretty warm.  Trying to sort out my Garmin to upload it.  So frustrating, my Garmin won't just connect to the computer, it takes forever. Not sure what the problem is....

Tomorrow, long run of 13 miles.  The plan is to go slow, I don't care if it is a 12 minute mile... Slow!

back at it

I haven't really taken a break.  I think the longest I have gone without running is three days.  And after that I just feel frustrated and have to go for a run.  I missed a couple of runs last week, as my eye got scratched which left me to lie on the couch in darkness and pity myself endlessly.  It is almost better, and I have managed to go for a few runs - respect for all those runners that wear glasses!!  I did 3 miles in the rain and yesterday 5 miles in heat and humidity - both with glasses, both an utter pain.

I am happy with my times, not the improvement I really want to see, but I have not been adding in speedwork, and have been skimping on hills.  The five miler did include hills!  And my long run this weekend is hopefully going to.  Well, when I say hills, I mean a bridge.  Or two bridges.  That's all I have in Florida!

A couple of my past runs, so I can see how I have been going.  I have a 5k next weekend, so I am wanting to be prepared - I have no idea how to race a 5k!  I attempted a little practice, and was happy with the result, especially as I cannot run as fast in the morning as in the evening.

Split	Time	Distance	Avg Pace
Summary	26:01.0	3.11	8:22
1	8:46.0	1.00	8:46
2	8:25.5	1.00	8:26
3	8:04.3	1.00	8:04
4	:45.3	0.11	6:52

That is my fastest on record so far!  I did 3 miles at an 8:04 pace a while ago, but did not run that extra 0.1 to make it to the full 5k.

I am thinking of trying to go out at an 8:45ish pace, then pick it up throughout the run.  Hopefully the excitement on the race will allow me to go faster!  Would love to get around 25 minutes.

'Cross-training' with the Dog

Split Time Distance Avg Pace Summary 50:38.6 5.50 9:12 1 9:04.4 1.00 9:04 2 9:01.8 1.00 9:02 3 9:12.7 1.00 9:13 4 9:10.2 1.00 9:10 5 9:31.7 1.00 9:32 6 4:37.8 0.50 9:10

I am very happy with this run!  This was yesterday's bridge loop.  The last mile, mile 5 was uphill into the wind, and at the end, but I am happy with that pace!  Good work.  It was tough, because of the heat, but it was manageable.

I'm going to attempt a treadmill workout today before work.  3 miles, and I would love to do some intervals.  Let's see how fast I can go!