Monday, November 10, 2008

Pilots 5K Run

There's good news and bad news here.
The good news is that I ran a personal best and improved my pace by more than a minute and a half from my half marathon.
The bad news is that I did not make my goal of 25 minutes or better, and I had to walk during the race.
It was the coldest weather I've ever run in - my car thermometer read 39 degrees when I left for home. It was also windy in certain spots, which made it difficult to keep pace.
I was right on pace the first two miles - right around 8:18/mile. I would have had to improve on that pace slightly during the last 1.2 miles to beat 25 minutes, but ideally the last mile is the fastest.
Well, my body realized how cold it was and how fast it had been running for the first two miles and decided it had had enough. The last 1.2 miles was really hard and I stopped to walk twice, but only for about 30 seconds each time.
It was a fun race. The course was around and through the Bethel College campus, which kept it interesting.
I am happy that I ran the race, if for no other reason than that it kept me on the treadmill for the last month.
Now comes the real challenge - staying motivated to keep running with no scheduled races in sight. I'll let you know how that goes.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Dan--what I take from your Pilot 5K report is that in spite of the cold weather, in spite of your walking, you STILL got a PERSONAL BEST! That is awesome! Congrats, you have reason to be proud of your accomplishment!

I too need some motivation to keep running....! Let me know if you find the magic trick! :)

Jill