I wasn't quite sure what I wanted to do today. I was hoping for some speedwork, but I've had some minor soreness lately. I planned to get up early, but it was a rare cool day, so I was able to run at my usual time after 10 AM. Not only was it cool, but there was light rain too.
I would've liked to have ran repeats on the Blue Eagle 5k course, but when it rains my watch gets all wacky when drops hit it. Therefore, I just opted to run hard for the full 5k course and then I'd lock the watch. I wish I could've warmed up, but I just went right at it.
I ran with my new minimalist New Balance shoes. They were great. They are so incredibly lightweight. I was going pretty hard in the beginning and I was blown away with my pace. The first half mile was definitely my fastest, but I did stay strong throughout the run.
My goal in a couple weeks for the 5k is to run under a 7:00 pace which comes out to a 21:45 5k. I was amazed as I came through the first mile at 6:43. That mile is a lot of downhill, but I still didn't think I could run that fast with that kind of effort.
Things got a bit tougher in mile two. There is a gradual uphill. My time was slowing a bit. Then after a little while the road is pretty rough. It is very noticeable in my minimal shoes. The one thing I don't like about them is the laces are so thin and hard to tie. The tongue was slipping to the side. I definitely need to tie them tighter next time.
Another thing that slowed my second mile was a big dog. It was out at one of the houses and barking at me. I slowed a little and then when I saw it wasn't going to chase, I picked it up again. That killed some momentum. I continued under a 7 minute pace though.
The second mile was a 7:07. My time continued to slip with the tough uphills in the second half of the course. I still came through 2.5 miles under a 7 minute pace and I was still at a 7 minute pace when I hit 2.6 miles. For the last half mile, I just focused on being smooth and having nice form. I didn't want to kill myself, but I wanted to keep going pretty hard and efficient.
After the last hill, I picked it up a bit. When I get to this point in the race, I plan to think of all the tough times I've been through with my health. That pushed me to the end last year. As I hit my race goal time of 21:45, I could see the elementary school. I was that close and in a training run. I had no idea I could run this fast in a race, let alone a training run by myself. I'm making incredible progress.
I crossed the highway and I was into the school. I pushed hard and finished at 22:27. I was simply amazed. I'm not sure what led to such a great time. Some of it was obviously just me getting stronger. I can also attribute the lighter shoes to some degree. I'm sure the whether was a big help. I love running in the rain and always excel at it. I just hope race day is somewhat cool.
The only bad thing about today was that I actually ran 3.19 miles instead of 3.1 miles. I really need to work on running this course on tangents better. It is tough to do because there are so many turns.
I was commenting last night that I'd like to see what happens if I go out hard. Could I hang on in the end? After today, I guess the answer is no. I did slip quite a bit throughout the run. I'll go out easy for the first mile on race day. It should still be fast because it is downhill. I should be able to bank a lot of time early without much effort.
With two weeks until the race, I guess I might have to rewrite my goals. Maybe I can even go under 21 minutes. That would be amazing. Either way, I know I'm getting faster and much stronger. I've never even run the Blue Eagle 5k in race conditions as fast as I did during training today. Every time I've come back, I've been training for about the same time period too. I'm getting well ahead of schedule now. Maybe a PR in the half marathon isn't out of the question by November.
The one thing that does worry me a little are my new shoes. Both of my shins were sore in the same area that they have been the last few days. I only plan on using those shoes for racing and speedwork, so hopefully I'll be okay. I'm not going to run more than a 5k in them for awhile. If I decide to race the half marathon in them, I'll build up to it.
Yesterday was such a crappy day and that made today so much better. Sometimes you just have bad days. It is when they become a pattern that you have to worry and back off. For now, I'm not doing that. I'll slow down a little next week, but I have to keep working on getting stronger.
Tomorrow will be a run with the Breakfast Club Runners at the Nor-Bath Trail. I can't wait. I haven't run with them in awhile. I'm hoping to run 8 miles. We'll see how I feel. I definitely need to start doing more long runs. I have been doing way too many 5 milers lately. This has been a big week. If I run 8 miles, I'll be approaching 40 miles for the week. That's because of the long race on Sunday though. This Sunday's rest will be a big help.
3.19 miles - 22:27 (7:03 pace)
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