I have recently gone and done something that I thought I would never do ever again.
I signed up for a 5K.
This is a cause near to my heart now and knowing that it is scheduled for Jun 5th when the weather is warmer makes it even better. I have seen improvements to my cardio since hitting the bike more often so I wonder how that will translate to running. The last time I ran at the gym, I did a few 200m sprints. After the first 200m, I felt like I could push the pace, so that is what I did. With every single interval, I never felt like my lungs were holding me back. It actually surprised me. What crushed me was my legs because I had not done any sprinting in forever, so naturally, I was hurting for days after that.
But what if I had time to go through a “couch to 5K” program? What if my lungs are already in better shape than they were in the past but I just need the time to catch my legs up? Just some things that run through my mind. Just running a 5K without stopping would be great for me. I had basically written off running forever because I had hated it so much. Lately, I wonder what I am capable of and if I could run a better time now at age 45 than I could at age 35. So there is only one way to find out.
Goals:
- Run a 5K without stopping
- Run a 5K in less than 30 minutes
- Run a 5K without stopping while wearing a weighted vest
All-Time Best
I was going through my old blog to try and find my all-time best 5K time. The best was back on April 7th, 2012 on a trip to visit family in Florida. I saved a photo of my Garmin.
The course was obviously short of the 3.10 mile mark, but I don’t think I have ever run a 5K at that pace, not under 30 minutes. I like to think that had there been the extra .10 of a mile to run, that I would still have been under 30 minutes for the race. Of course, being in Florida, everything was extremely flat. The flattest course I have ever run in my life.
The only cardio I have been doing lately on a regular basis has been the bike. But I have managed to continue walking and tried to pick up the pace here and there.
That walk with a weighted vest was from a week or so ago and after I was done, it really made me wonder how long it would take me to run that same distance unweighted. If I can hold that pace, which is a fast walk for me, then surely I could eventually run it a lot faster, right?
It has been about 8 years since I tried to run that distance. Sure will be interesting to see what happens the next time I give it a shot.