5K in New Haven Dec. 10th 2006

Unofficial time ~29:45ish, which works to a 9:33 mile. I felt like it was a good pace. At mile 1, the guy yelled out 10:20. It took about 45 seconds to get to the starting line. At the end of the race my watch said 30:21 and then I forgot to push stop. There was chip timing for the race too. I will use the chip time as the official time. I'm on pin's and needles for the chip time. I went out slow and kicked it in when I thought there was about 5 minutes left to run. I saw the finish line and dug down deep and pulled it out. I did not walk. It's funny to say that I dug down deep with such a slow time, but I felt like taking a break with about 3/4 miles left to go. I focused on the person in front of me and tried to keep their pace. There's no doubt in my mind that if I continue this, weight will come off and when weight comes off the pace will increase. At 273 lbs I'm carrying around an extra 53 pounds. 53 pounds! I need to be a bit easier on my self as far as pace is concerned. I'm trying to teach my daughter that even if you come in last, as long as you got out there and did your best, your a winner because there are a lot of people who can't even make it to the starting line. I was and am feeling some pain in my right ankle. Time for RICE.

One thing that was really neat to see was the number of kids running in the race. I saw a girl who was 8 who said she started running when she was 5. My 7 year old saw her and now she wants to go running too. I think this could be a family affair! I would like nothing more than to go out on family jaunts. You know I think I'd like that because I'd like my family to experience the great feelings that I've been feeling. It's amazing how good running is for the psyche, the body and the spirit. I do relish the 30 to 50 minutes I get to go out on the road. It's a great time to clear the head.

I do have lots to learn for racing. One thing I did do was get a good night's sleep before hand which made the day just that much more pleasant. I always say that I'll write more later. I finished the race. I'm thinking about my continued training and may cut the running down to 4 days a week and try to work in weights 2-3 times per week. I would like my mileage to be in the 16 - 20 per week. I did keep thinking to my self, " I can do it
!"

This was a pretty stream of consciousness thing but I will try to be a bit more cogent next time. I will also write about the events leading up to the race. It's funny how much anxiety I was filled with. I was properly hydrated and yet my mouth was bone dry. I also had to pee and the lines for the porta potty was quite long. I'm wondering if my running would have been better had I had totally relieved myself before the race. I'll add that variable in on the next jaunt. I am going to get a 10 K on the calendar for spring and follow a 12 week training program and see how that goes for me. I do plan on adding in speed work (if you can call it speed work) at least 1 day a week, whether fartlek or hills or 4 X 800s what ever, I think I need to step up the intensity on my runs to try to get the pace down. I want to feel like I'm a runner not a plodder. I know all in good time, but a guy can dream can't he? Ok enough for now, I have to go give my kidlets a kiss good night.

Best to all, I'll be seeing you on the race course I hope...