With the lack of training and a terrible diet last week I really wanted to hit it hard this week. Monday I went to the only serious hills in the area, ran twice and enjoyed myself while getting to share my hobby with a person who is new to the sport. After hitting the weights Tuesday I got the chance to head out to the swamp and ride Baby for a quick 16 mile ride setting a new high speed record and was barely off topping my average speed record. If I didn't have the head wind I did on the way back I think I could have beat that one too! Wednesday was just a weights circuit at the gym and an off day for cardio.
One of the things that I have really had to work on is seeing the little steps of progress during this journey. Several times my team has had to sit me down and force me to take a look at the big picture instead of just focusing on the main objective. Thursday I didn't need the team to show me, I realized it all on my own. Was a little frustrated with some personal issues during the day and needed to get out of the house. So I laced up the running shoes and off I went. Originally I was just going to do 3 miles worth of fartleks but I found myself ready to move so I quickly changed over to just an all out 5k test run. It has been quite a while since I just ran a 5k. In all my life I would have never thought I would smile at running JUST 3.1 miles. I kept my Garmin at the 3:1 intervals like I use to but quickly abandoned that when my first walk break came up. I was ready to move! So I just doubled up the running intervals to 6 minutes running with a 1 minute walk break. There were a couple of times I think I could of skipped the walk breaks too! By the time I notice my heart was in my throat and my lungs were on fire I was at the 2.8 mile mark and there was no way I was going to slow down. Why slow down, need to speed up and get this over with. Then I can walk for my cool down. NOW SPRINT!!! And that is exactly what I did. With every last bit of my energy I could muster up I increased my pace. As soon as the watch hit 3.11 miles I hit the stop and looked at the time with shear amazement. 30:22 with average pace of 9:46. My first 5k race in March was completed in 40:39. 10 minutes and change I have cut off my time since March. While still not within the range for the average pace I want to be at for next season, I am still happy and proud of that run. It shows me that the hard work I am doing is paying off. That motivates me to continue pushing myself outside of my comfort zone.
-Mike
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