Running in Beauty

another 5k update, just shy of a PR

So I ran another 5k yesterday evening. Like I mentioned before, it was sponsored by the Navajo Special Diabetes Project (I can't believe they don't have a website cuz it's like a big thing on the rez!) and therefore it was non-competitive. They weren't timing any runners and I can see now, why I didn't get a time at my last 5k in Tuba City. The objective was just to get people out there moving--either running or walking. They even had country line dancing going on inside the gym. lol

Luckily, I had my watch on to record my time or at least my approximate time. They didn't do the best job in the world of marking the course or designating where the finish line was so I had to approximate.

I was also busy trying to get boxes of water bottles out of my car for my co-worker to hand out to runners when they came back in on behalf of our program. The run was just about to start when my co-worker piped up that he needed at least one more box of bottles. So I had to dash back to my car and I noticed that the runners had taken off and I was late by at least a minute or more.

It was a psychological battle for me knowing that I was in last place as a runner and even though I knew it was because I started off late--it still made me frustrated. However, I began passing people during the final mile when the hills started getting to most. I'm very proud that I can deliver even on hills now and they don't pose much of a challenge anymore. :) It also feels awesome when I can pass runners faster than me on these hills.

Therefore, I was overjoyed to see that I ran a sub-30min 5k with all the inclines on the race course. I was shooting for a 30:30 but shot that down by a minute. I stopped once to retie my shoe so I may have even run the whole thing in about 29:15 or so which is so close to my 5kPR. I totally kicked tail on this one and knowing that it was more challenging than the course on which I set my PR is major kudos!

Now just imagine what my time would be if I were to race at Phoenix elevation! Ooooh the possibilities!

I have another 5k coming up in Albuquerque this weekend. I originally wanted to do the half-marathon but I'm not ready for it. The time it took to adjust to the elevation here really threw me off schedule but hey, I'm still running and keeping up those miles!

As for this evening, I have 6 miles planned.

Does anyone know of any half-marathons in the 4 Corners area (AZ,NM, CO, UT) that will be taking place in late November? I'll be ready by then! I'll have another PR to blast.

etched in stone by carmen @ 8:07 AM