Race Report: Colon Cancer 5K

My 4th 5K Race. Got there 45 mins early, registered and walked around for about 20 mins then did my pre-run stretching.

Mile 1 – Felt great on but of course it was mostly downhill. Relaxed and breathing and heart rate was under control (stayed around 150 bpm).

Mile 2 – Was a bit of a struggle as the course started to go uphill and was forced to take a walk break at 2.5 miles. Overall still felt pretty good but was having trouble keeping my breathing under control (160-170 bpm).

Mile 3 – The last 1/2 mile was uphill and I struggled the last .6 miles of the race. I ended up walking to the mile 3 marker and then sprinting the last .11 miles to the finish line.

I went in with a goal of finishing under 36 mins and I finished in 37:05. It’s still almost 3 minutes better than when I ran this course back in May so I can’t be too disappointed to see that much of an improvement. I need to work on controlling my breathing more, especially during uphill climbs and increase mileage so that I’m not feeling like I hit my reserves at 2.5 miles.

Race Report: Back to School 5K

This morning, I participated in my third 5K with a goal of 35 minutes or better. I finished in 36:50 (according to my Garmin Forerunner GPS watch) so I didn’t beat my goal. But I did finish 3 minutes faster than my previous 5K on May 9th but it’s hard to compare since they are different courses. I am okay with that time but not excited about it. I know I can do better than that!

I started out way too fast the first mile so of course the last 2 miles, I really struggled. I slowed down and walked at the 1 mile mark but really should of kept on running. I guess mentally, I still have it in my head that I can’t run more than a mile but I was actually feeling fine so I honestly believe it was a mental block not a physical one at that point. After that, it was hard to start running continuously again. By mile 2, I had very little left in my legs plus lost focus on controlling my breathing and heart rate. I did have my iPod and never again will I race with music…it was too distracting when I’m trying to concentrate on my race. When I’m training it’s great but not during a race. Plus they advertised the race as being traffic free but it wasn’t, about 4-5 cars had to maneuvered their way around the crowd of runners.

Even though I didn’t feel like I had a great race, I’m not going to give up and keep up with my training! I have to look at it is I’ve been only running for 5 months and who knows what will happen this fall when the weather cools down.

My next 5K is on August 29 at Duncan Park, the same course as the Run for Scouting 5K I did back in May so it will be a more accurate test to see how much I will have improved in 3.5 months.

Last week of Beginner 5K Training

I’m on the final week of iRUN's 10-week Beginner’s 5K Training Program. It’s similar to the couch to 5K as it has you walking more than running in the first several weeks and slowly decreasing the walking intervals and increasing the running intervals in the latter weeks. I have one more workout remaining and that is Wednesday’s 44 min run (run 8 mins, walk 3 mins, repeat 4x) before Saturday’s Back to School 5K at the Middle Tyger YMCA in Spartanburg, SC which I’m not sure I’ll even enter. It really depends on the weather. I haven’t be doing well on high humidity days at all so if it’s humid, I probably won’t enter. If I don’t, I won’t have to wait long for the next 5K, just 3 weeks later on August 29 is the Colon Cancer Awareness 5K at Duncan Park in Spartanburg, SC, the same course as the Run for Scouting 5K I did back in early May. So it will be a more accurate test to see how much I have progressed in 4 months.

I really have no idea where I am with my training since the weather has played an big factor. I can take the heat but this humidity, not so well. If it’s humid, I get nauseous and dizzy during and after my run regardless of how well I hydrate and whether I drink water or Gatorade. Me and humidity just don’t get along very well. I think the real test will come in September and October and to see how well I do during the cooler months.

Next week I’ll be starting the Intermediate 5K Program which consists of tempo runs, fartleks (that’s speed work for you non-runners), hill work and fun runs. I’m also planning on returning to karate as part of my cross training. I took a 3 month leave from karate to give my hip a rest from all the kicking, I was in so much pain at one point, that it hurt to walk so I probably won’t do much if any kicking in class which means my black belt pretest is pretty much on hold for the time being. But, I’m not going to worry about it too much as my most important thing right now is to stay active and to stay healthy.