I finished the Stroehmann’s 5K today about 10% faster than I did in my first ever 5K just three weeks ago.
Not bad. Felt good the whole way. I warmed up by going 2.6 miles on the way to the race start and cooled down by doing the same after the race. Net distance for the day a little more than 8 miles. Now I need to string that kind of thing together for the next few weeks.
Next up: A 5-miler at Valley Forge next weekend.
Then: 22 days from now it’s gonna be 10 miles in the Broad Street Run.
I ran the Get Your Rear in Gear 5K today. I felt pretty good and ran a time I expected. Had my heart rate a little high because I ran too quickly in the beginning (running newbies all do it…I read about it…knew about it…and did it anyway).
I laughed when I arrived at the run this morning. There were teams of people who ran for those affected by colorectal cancer. That sign was was for one of the teams. You can imagine that I took it as a good sign that I was going to be okay in my first organized run ever.
For a guy who never ran two steps in a row for an entire lifetime, doing a 5K is a heckuva step. Tomorrow morning I line up with 3,000 of my closest friends (okay, I hate them all) and take off in the Get Your Rear in Gear 5K. I’m Bib #1781. I’m hoping I’m not finisher #3,000. (C’mon, someone, stub a toe.)
I’m cranking up my mileage for the Broad Street Run, which is in 43 days. I’ve been training for 10 weeks and will get my training in with a couple of organized runs in April. Then, it’s 10 miles in the BSR.
From there…the Chicago Marathon in October. And if I don’t get injured, the Philadelphia Marathon in November.
The journey of 26.2 miles starts with a single step.
Crap. First serious pain since I started running 9 weeks ago. Could be shin splints. I’m taking Advil and keeping my feet up, but it’s tough because I’ve already walked incidentally (meaning just during my normal day) over 2.5 miles. By day’s end, I’ll probably be at 4+. I have a long run tomorrow. I hope the shins get better.
I went for a nice, leisurely walk in Valley Forge National Park today. I had intended to do the 5-mile loop…but I ended up going a little longer. (I’m not so great with dead reckoning, but it worked out.)
