True to form, I haven’t updated this blog since June 🙂
But, I wanted to write out the progress I have made since my original C25k post back in May. I was just getting ready to start the Couch to 5k interval training program. In reality, after that first jog, I didn’t actually start the running program until mid-June. I did it with a friend of mine. I would run the first two workouts of each week on my own, and we would run the third together on Thursday evenings. It was great, because in order to keep up with him, I really needed to do those other two workouts on my own – I couldn’t just wing it! So we did that for 9 weeks, and we “graduated” the program in August. That month, we both ran our very first 5k race!
It was hot, sticky, dusty and all around miserable, and took me around 40 minutes to finish. I was disappointed because in practice, I averaged about 11-12 minute miles, and I was convinced that I would have finished in under 35 minutes. Oh well! I decided that I wouldn’t be discouraged, and I was going to do at least one race every month as a motivator!
So in September, I signed up for another 5k in a park. This was a road race, rather than a trail race, which I am much more comfortable with. The temperature was around 60, which is pretty perfect, and I ran it in just over 31 minutes! I averaged about a 10 minute mile!
October came, and so did the race I was the most nervous about, but also the most excited. It was time for the Six Flags Zombie Fright Run 5k! For anyone who doesn’t know what that is, it’s a 5k run combined with an obstacle course and flag football. You start off with three flags, which zombies throughout the course chase you and try to steal. There aren’t just zombies chasing you though; there are zombies chasing you through water, over walls, under ropes, you name it! Unfortunately, a large stack of hay bales and one zombie claimed me as victim – I ended up re-injuring my knee. Luckily (and stupidly), it was cold enough out (around 30 degrees) and I was wading through waste-deep freezing water so that the swelling in my knee was kept to a minimum, and with the help of my friend and my knee brace I was able to finish the race and even keep jogging parts of it! I paid for the next couples days though when I discovered I could hardly walk.
That set me back, since I couldn’t run for at least two weeks after that incident. So I gave myself plenty of time, and my next race was a Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving morning! That was a cold one, but I ran it in about 32 minutes and didn’t feel too badly about stuffing my face later that day.
A week and a half later was a Hot Chocolate run, and the race sold out with 5500 participants! I ran it in just over 31 minutes and beat about 1200 people 🙂
To sum it up, running has been going well! For the first time in my life, I actually LIKE running, and I am already signed up for a St. Patrick’s Day 10k (6.2 miles). My goal in 2013 is to run a minimum of 500 miles, and potentially a lot more, and to get my 5k time down to 28 minutes. I am also signed up for Warrior Dash in September! Eek!
Onwards!
P.S. I did end up getting a pair of Vibram Bikilas – they’re WONDERFUL! Best shoes I have ever run in! I will be getting another pair in the spring since I’ve worn my current pair down pretty good!
muddledsoul 