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So I was able to run a full 3.25 miles without stopping last Friday. Monday I set out to do the same thing, to run at that same 11 minute mile pace and finish 3.25 again without stopping.
I didn’t know how well I’d do since it was pretty cold out, and I’m not very accustomed to running in the cold and it’s still difficult for me. But running felt great! Once I got to 2 miles I felt like I could go on for much longer, and decided that when I got to 3 miles if I still felt the same then I would shoot for 4.
Once I got to 3 miles, I still felt fantastic, and didin’t want to stop, so I decided to just keep going until I wanted to stop. This was the result:
I could hardly believe that I was able to do a whole 6 miles without stopping! And at that pace, I felt like I could have gone for longer too–my cardio at that speed was great and the only thing keeping me from running longer was my legs getting sore.
I can hardly grasp that I went from barely able to finish a mile to completing 6 simply by changing my pace. But it excites me that I can do this, and I am starting to really enjoy it! Whereas before I would dread running and hated it, I now can’t wait until my next run. I love it, and I never thought I would!
I decided I’m definitely going to do the Tampa Turkey Trot 5K. Top finisher awards go out to the first 125 male and 125 females finishers, but I don’t expect to be in that category. When I looked up times, the 125th place for females had a time of 24:07. I’m averaging a 33 minute 5K at the moment. I know I could run faster, but for now I’m going to shoot for just finishing a 5K race for the first time, and later on I can work on improving my PR.
I’m excited about the Turkey Trot now, since it will be my first 5K.
Also, I came across this in my Runner’s World magazine today:
Definitely going to attempt to do this! I think it’s a great idea, especially since the time between Thanksgiving and New Year’s is the time I usually pack on the pounds!
