Today..............

I ran.

I awoke at 7am and was registered shortly after 8am. This was my first Running Event, so I took some time to walk around and check things out. There was a kids 2k run that went off around 830am. Some of those kids were moving it. It was cool to see some parents running next to their kids offering them encouragement.

I normally do not do much warm up when running or riding. For this event I briskly walked 4 or 5 blocks and lightly ran 1 block. I really just needed to warm up the left knee and see how it felt. It was fine.

I must say I was nervous. There were a lot of people there and a lot of serious looking runners too. I did not really know how I would react around miles 2.5 and 3.

Would it hurt? Where would it hurt? Would I have to walk? Would I go out to fast?

Time to line up was called out at 845am, so I lined up. I was near the front in approximately row ten. The super fast dudes were all up front and center at the start line. Just prior to the start I noticed one of my neighbors in front of me. He is a fit guy, a runner, who completed a Marathon earlier this year. He has not been doing much running lately due to a motorcycle accident though. He said he woke up this morning feeling good and decided to give this run a go.

This start was crazy. We went out fast to get out in front and stay out of trouble. I basically followed him the first mile. I fell behind him a bit during that first mile, but caught up near the start of mile two. From there we ran side by side until mile 2.8 or so. At that point I felt really good and decided to pick up my pace.

There were two clocks out on course, mile 1 and mile 2, for split times. Both were under eight minutes when I passed. That put me on target for my goal. When I hit the final turn I spotted the clock and the official time was approaching 24 minutes. I should have sprinted full out, but did not. I crossed the finish line at approximately 24:10 on the official clock. I do not have my official time yet as they will be posted online later. The did the timing of runners without any Timing Chips and just used our numbers. I thought that was odd.

Of course, I carried my Garmin Edge 305 with me. When the Gun went off for the start I started the Edge and didn't stop it until I crossed the finish line. So, I am pretty confident in its numbers. They break down like this:

Mile ONE = 7:17
Mile TWO = 7:53
Mile THREE = 7:49
Finish = :53

5K = 3.1 Miles = 24:13



I feel really good about this run. My neighbor was impressed with my running and mentioned that with a little training I could be finishing in 21 minutes or less. That was a nice compliment. He knows where I came from, Jan 4th at 236 lbs and walking on a treadmill to Sept 24th at 177 lbs running a 5K Race.

I think I may have to do more of this running stuff as the weather turns colder. Then this winter maybe a little swimming at the YMCA. Then we will just see where we are at next Spring!! Later.