My first 5K and 10K in two years didn't turn out too badly at all. I met my goal of completing both in a total time under 1 hour, 10 minutes. Final results haven't been posted yet, but preliminarily I finished the 5K in 21:53 and the 10K in 47:53. That compares favorably to my best times. I was a minute or so off from my PR in both the 5K and 10K. Truthfully I probably could have pushed myself a little more, but I'm a wimp when it comes to suffering and discomfort. If only there was a way to run fast and not feel like dying.
The course was altered slightly. Rather than starting in Robertson by the Abbey, the race started on Sweetzer and headed west on Santa Monica Blvd. to Doheny. There we turned around and ran east up to Crescent Heights and then turned back one more time to the finish line by Sweetzer. One lap was a 5K. Even though it's essentially the same course, I liked this one better because it started with a nice downhill and scattered the hills throughout. The climb towards the end up to Crescent Heights was tough, but at least there was the reward of running down that same hill soon after making it to the top.
Running the 5K and 10K made me wish I was doing more speed training. I think speed work would have helped shave a minute or so off my times. It's still not too late to incorporate speed work to prepare for the San Francisco Marathon next month, but the hard part will be summoning the will to dedicate myself to the effort.
Losing weight would also help tremendously. Nothing like running with dozens of very fit guys to make me feel like a fat ass. Next year I'll be in better shape, and I will run the 5K and 10K with blazing time...or else!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
You can do it! You'll set the marathon path on fire with your newly developed speed running! ...OR ELSE!
Hi! I just discovered the site, and reading older posts.. I enjoyed going through it and will visit you again soon! I started to run this spring and I hope I'll make it a habit.
Post a Comment