I Must Be Crazy - Part II

Now I know why people should plan their training and stick to it.

As part of my tri training and overall training plan, I wasn't scheduled to run my very first 5k until August 6th. My focus has been on the bike, with the ultimate goal of riding Cycle North Carolina the first week of October (7 days - 70 miles per day).  A few weeks ago, a missions team heading to Haiti in June, decided to have a 5k to raise funds.  Well, today is the day...

After a meager amount of training runs (mostly on a treadmill), I gave it a go.  I didn't start off very well, having a restless night of sleep, and running late.  It took me a little while to pick up the registration packet, get everything together (HR monitor, ipod armband, running socks and shoes, and running shirt).  I only had a few minutes to warm-up and didn't do a good job.    I had 3 minutes to warm-up, so basically did some running in place, some jumping jacks, and some stretching, and about the time I got toward the end of the mass of runners lined up at the gate, I had 10 seconds before the gun went off.  No time to worry about how stupid this is, just GO FOR IT!! ..

I started off pretty well, kept pace around a 12 min mile for about the first 1/4 mile and then I checked my HR monitor watch.  I immediately started walking.  My heart rate was 157 (my max is 167), and it had never gotten this high, this fast.  I knew it was going to be a long day, so I finished walking to the bottom of hill, turned the corner, and my heart sank.  The first "real" hill, and I started thinking that this is going to kill me.  I made a decision that I would run for 1 minute, and walk for 1 minute and try to save enough for the last 1/2 mile to try and run the 1/2 mile continuously.  5 big hills later, a numbing feeling in my left foot, and a heart rate that finally settled comfortably in my zone, I passed the two mile mark.  I stopped, slid down the knee brace, loosened my shoe string on my numbing foot, did some stretching and jumping to get some feeling back, and started again.   Around the 1/2 mile to go mark, I decided I was just going for it, and started jogging, and eventually picked up speed for the last small hill just before the finish.  When I hit the finish line, my HR was again at 157, but the pain in my legs were gone and I had finished strong.  I looked at my time, and realized that I had missed my target by 28 seconds, which was the amount of time I took to get the feeling back in my foot at the 2 mile mark.  All in all, not bad for a guy's first 5k, having never been a runner, and having lost 42 pounds from last year, where I couldn't even walk a mile without almost passing out