Kicking It Up a Notch: A 5k PR

Goal: 5k Personal Record (Previous record: 8:25 minute miles, with a time of 26:10). Of course, I would love to hit my New Year's Resolution of an under 8-minute mile, 5k, but realistically, I'm just not quite there. 

Weight: Last check (a few days ago) 121 lbs.
Body Fat: I assume I'm still in that 18% range
Breakfast: Green smoothie with some oatmeal blended in, and of course, coffee

It's been awhile since I tested my 5k pace (especially at a nice morning race--when I feel most energetic). So Mark (the spouse) and I looked online to see what we could find for this morning. We found one in Fairborn, Ohio called The 5k for Turkey Day. Benefits from the race provide those in need with a Thanksgiving meal. So that seemed like a nice thing to put our $25 registration fee toward.

Plus, a small race is nice to test your pace--no bottlenecks to slow you down!

I was really ramped up to test my pace. So much so I was actually nervous at the start. Two things had me worried: the course had some hills; and I have a bit of a cold (sinus stuff). So I was afraid my breathing would be off. (It was a little, but not too bad).


The race went pretty well. According to my gps I averaged 8:16 minute miles--which is a PR for me. I believe it had my time as 24:24--which is certainly a PR--however, the course was about a tenth and a half short--so I don't think I can count that as an official 5k race time. But it will be fun to try to beat it!

So I'm getting there--slowly chipping away at my time to reach that under 8-minute mile goal. It's September--I still have over three months to reach my goal! (And cooler weather is my best running time).

Another nice surprise (and why it is nice to run the small races sometimes), I was first overall female. That's a first for me! I've been first in my division a few times, but never first overall!

So I will consider the morning a win!

8:16 minute miles are now the time to beat in the next one!

Next weekend is the Iron Warrior--the 15.6 mile adventure race we've been training for. I'll let you know how it goes!

Kicking it Up a Notch: Does Your Body Have a Speed Limit?

Weight: Don't know. I hadn't planned a challenge for today, so I didn't weigh-in this morning. And I NEVER weigh myself in the evening.
Body Fat: 18.45% (That's in the athletic range for a 43-year-old woman--so I'm good with that. I just want to keep toning/building strength).
Breakfast: Smoothie with hemp protein, chia seeds, kale, bananas, unsweetened almond milk, peanut butter and raw cocoa powder.
Lunch: Left-over concoction of corn, zucchini, peppers and onions
Snack: Spicy dill pickles with vegan cheese (okay, then I did splurge on two real cheese squares. The spicy pickles got the better of me).
Dinner: Cooking right now--rice and beans.
Challenge: 1.5 miles in under 12 minutes (continuing my goal of running a 5k in sub 8-minute miles)

I didn't actually set out to do a challenge today. But we missed our sprint workout on Monday, and I was feeling the need to challenge myself this evening (which is rare. I normally feel the need to challenge myself in the morning--not the evening).

So I shot an email to the spouse to see if he would meet me at the track. The goal (after meeting the one mile challenge) was to do 1.5 miles in under 8-minute miles. In other words, a mile and a half in under 12 minutes.

Accomplished! 1.5 miles in 11:24--a 7:36 minute pace! (The proof: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/370702761) This is, by far, the fastest I have ever run a mile and a half. I could tell by the vomit that was creeping up my throat during the last lap. I have to say, I'm pretty proud of this time. But I can also tell you: this was all I had in me. No way could I have kept it up for another mile and a half.  But I still have some time to meet my New Year's Resolution.

All this focus on pace has brought a question to mind--and I would love to hear some input from my other runner friends. Does your body have a speed limit (and it seems obvious that it does at some point)? And, how do you know when you've reached it?

I've gone from running 12-minute miles to closing in on 8-minute miles. When I hit my 8-minute goal, do I keep pushing? How fast is fast enough? How fast can my body go if I really push it?

Do you feel you have a speed limit? Have you hit it yet? Do you want to hit it? Do you want to know how fast your body is capable of going?



Tomorrow's challenge is not quite so physical, but a challenge for me nonetheless--my first weekly yoga class. My goal is to get through the class and enjoy it!