Some days it's just hard to get out of bed. The alarm was not my friend this morning. The motivation to run was just not there. I considered resetting the alarm for an hour later but somehow convinced myself to get up and get moving. I did my morning routine and went out in the cold for a run.
I had planned on 3 fairly easy miles this morning, trying to keep my pace between 11 and 11:30. I started off just fine, keep my pace right at around 11:30, speeding up a little, slowing down a little, but averaging right where I wanted to be. I finished the first mile in 11:13 and continued plodding along at about the same pace, trying to keep my heart rate around 150. Somewhere around the middle of the second mile I started getting bored but everything felt good so I just kept pushing forward at a slowish pace. I finished mile 2 in 11:12, almost the exact same average pace as mile 1. I started off the third mile with the same goal in mind, just maintain a steady pace through to the end. By that point I was really bored, though, so I decided to pick up the pace a bit. Just a few feet later I thought it would be fun to see if I could run the last mile at a faster pace than my best per mile pace for a full workout of 10:23. A few feet after that started wondering how fast I could finish mile 3. So, the race was on. I picked up the pace to sub 10:00/mile and then sub 9:00/mile. I pushed pretty hard up the last hill and made a fast lap around the parking lot, accelerating to an all out sprint by the time my watch beeped that the third mile was complete. I did the third mile in 9:46. In most circles, that's not terribly impressive, but it was pretty good for me. Of course, I was really huffing by the end of the that mile, but it was worth it.
I'm glad I got out of bed this morning and ran. I don't think I've ever regretted getting out of bed for a run after the run was over. Yet, most mornings I'm not terribly happy to hear the alarm, and some mornings, like today, I have to do some serious convincing to get myself out of bed.
I'm as ready as I'm going to be for Saturday's 5K. I'm hoping to cut at least 4 minutes off of my previous 5K time, which is not an easy thing to do. I've put in the hours and the miles over the last 4 months, so I know I'm going to see some improvement. I don't really have a strategy. I'm just going to go out there and push myself as hard as I think I can and still finish, having run the whole race. I'm thinking I'll try to average somewhere around 10:45/mile for the first 2.5 miles and then let it all hang out for the last half mile or so. I really want to come in under 33 minutes. If I can do that I'll consider it a good race. It will be a great race if I can beat 32:22, which is exactly 4 minutes faster than my previous 5K. Anything under 32:00 I will consider spectacular. I know there will be people finishing in 20 minutes, which is just unbelievable to me, but I'm not competing with them. I'm competing with me. Baby steps. I'll be doing a mid 20s 5K soon enough. For now I'm happy with slow but steady progress.
Today's Stats: I did exactly 3 miles in 32:12 for an average pace of 10:44, but I'm most proud of running that last mile in 9:46.
Next Up: Swimming (theoretically) tomorrow and Friday. Snow is in the forecast for tonight, so I don't that I'll risk coming down to the pool in the morning. 5K on Saturday! Back to regularly scheduled programming on Monday - Week 4 of my 5K speed improvement routine: 3.25 reps of: Run 10 minute pace 3:00, run 12 minute pace 1:30, run 10 minute pace 5:00, run 12 minute pace 2:30. (to keep workout under 40 minutes, it ends on the 4th rep of 3:00 at 10:00/mile).
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