5K Graduate

Not Couch to 5K. 5K! And only four days after my goal.

Farthest Distance. Most calories

1.5 mi longer than your usual distance

My intention was to do 5K, it was not to do it without stop. I kept bribing myself “you can slow down at one mile. You can have a walk break at 20 minutes / 1.55 miles / 25 minutes / 30 minutes”. At 2 miles I said nope, going all the way. And I did.

I ran 3 miles once before (coincidentally on February 4). According to my spreadsheet ** (1.35) and Runkeeper (1.11) I’m about a minute and a bit faster per mile. That was with walk breaks at probably .25 mile apiece, which explains some, but my run intervals were faster.

1.11 faster than your usual pace for this distance.

I’m still trying to figure out the speed I’m capable of. When I did 2.75 miles this past Wednesday I did a half mile at one speed, the second half mile .10 faster and the third half mile at the original speed. After a walk break I did the first half mile at the faster speed then the last half mile at the original speed, .10 miles slower. Thursday I did a more traditional speed workout doing .25 mile intervals at a pace .6 mph faster than my jog. Doable, but my shins started to hurt. I did today’s 3 miles at Thursday’s faster pace for 3 miles and then did the last tenth in an all out sprint. Yep, I found that runner’s high and I think I’m still on it two hours later.

Do I care about speed? Not really. I have no intentions of ever “racing” even if I enter a 5K. Do I want to get faster? Yes. I really don’t enjoy running for the better part of an hour. But a playlist that started with “Shut Up and Dance With Me” and ended with “Shall We Dance?” from The King and I certainly made it a more interesting time. We’ll see where this all goes. I did just buy myself a present of new leggings as I ‘ve realized they’re by far the most comfortable things to run in. Wind pants, the least, but necessary for getting to and from the gym in weather like today.

Even with indoor track in high school, I’m pretty sure this is the farthest I’ve ever run without stopping. And the best thing? I could have stopped. No coach / trainer / running buddy to push me. I pushed myself. I. DID. IT.

** I’m tweaking my spreadsheet. I think I’m going to base it off my “steps nerd” one as that’s most familiar to me and I can’t read a long table as well.