Encouraging Fun Run
Today I ran the monthly fun run at work. The course is twice around Coast Guard Island and then once down the main road to the gazebo/picnic area. The total distance is three miles. I ran the course today in 18:33, which is a 6:11 pace. I finished first, as always. The next fastest regular participant showed up today, so I only won by a couple of minutes. While the competition isn’t challenging, these runs do give me a monthly opportunity to test myself. If this had been a 5K, I would have been pretty close to my PR (19:13). The path around CG Island is approximately 60% dirt, and the dirt section is uneven and is not the best running surface. I believe that if I had run a 5K on the roads today, I could have finally made a serious run at going under 19 minutes.
When I was transferring my half marathon training plan from paper to the computer, the speedwork was looking pretty daunting considering that I haven’t been running fast for the past few months (other than during the fun runs). After running today’s fun run so well, I’m feeling better about starting the training program. While I clearly have some work ahead of me, I think I’m in pretty good shape as I enter the program. I’m not normally the optimistic type, but I think I have some good fall racing ahead of me this year.
I was working on my application for the Navy Marathon team today, and one fact is pretty clear – I don’t race enough. This year, I’ve raced once (the Napa Valley Marathon). Since moving back to California last July, I’ve raced only twice. My race times aren’t bad, but there certainly aren’t very many of them. A few weeks ago I mentioned low-key races hosted by a local running club. I’m going to make it a point to participate in these races in August and in September, probably running a 5K one month and a 10K the other month.
Since the fun run, including warm-up, is under five miles, I ran again after work. The plan was to run a bit over ten miles and log 15 miles total for the day. However, my body had other ideas. I felt pretty good for the first couple of miles, but then I suddenly had nothing left. I decided to just circle around to get up to ten total miles for the day and get ready for more miles tomorrow.
When I was transferring my half marathon training plan from paper to the computer, the speedwork was looking pretty daunting considering that I haven’t been running fast for the past few months (other than during the fun runs). After running today’s fun run so well, I’m feeling better about starting the training program. While I clearly have some work ahead of me, I think I’m in pretty good shape as I enter the program. I’m not normally the optimistic type, but I think I have some good fall racing ahead of me this year.
I was working on my application for the Navy Marathon team today, and one fact is pretty clear – I don’t race enough. This year, I’ve raced once (the Napa Valley Marathon). Since moving back to California last July, I’ve raced only twice. My race times aren’t bad, but there certainly aren’t very many of them. A few weeks ago I mentioned low-key races hosted by a local running club. I’m going to make it a point to participate in these races in August and in September, probably running a 5K one month and a 10K the other month.
Since the fun run, including warm-up, is under five miles, I ran again after work. The plan was to run a bit over ten miles and log 15 miles total for the day. However, my body had other ideas. I felt pretty good for the first couple of miles, but then I suddenly had nothing left. I decided to just circle around to get up to ten total miles for the day and get ready for more miles tomorrow.
posted by Bart at 10:41 PM
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