My first 5k race take three

It is that time of year again, time for the third annual Saratoga 5k Fun Run. If you are a somewhat recent newcomer to my blog you are not aware of what this race means to me.

The Saratoga 5k Fun Run made it's inaugural run two years ago in May of 2007, just one short month after I started running. You can catch up a bit more with my post about it last year, but the short of it is that I ran the 5k with a time of 36:37, coming in dead last in the race.

Last year was a different story all together. To get the full understanding you MUST READ my race report from last year. All I can say is that you have not read a come-back story like this.....

Well, the third annual Saratoga 5k Fun Run is this Saturday May 2nd, and I am pumped and ready to go. I know I won't do as well as last year, because that is what taking 8 months off will do to you. Injuries are no fun, especially of the broken bone type! I have a goal to finish in under 25 minutes, but we will see how that goes since this is such a tough hilly course.

Wish me luck!

A long run.... cut short

I am not sure what went wrong with today's long run. I ended up bailing for the most part on my run after about 4.5 miles. I had no energy left and I felt like I might overheat. Since I was running alone I couldn't risk collapsing.

Like I said, I am not sure what went wrong. I ate a good breakfast a couple hours before running and drank lots and lots of water all morning leading up to my run since I knew it was hot and the sun was really hot. I drank a small glass of gatorade before walking out the door to run as well. I carried a small gatorade and a water bottle with me.

I had a good bit of hills in my first 4 miles, but most of which I do when I run my long run. I didn't drink anything till I was about 4 miles in but was drenched in sweat. I usually don't carry a drink in the morning when running up to 5 miles so I really didn't think I needed it. Once I started feeling bad I started to drink a bit of water and then drank the whole gatorade (small sport size) but I think it must have been too little too late.

I walked a good bit in the next three miles, but tried to get in a little bit of running as well. I did decide I would run the last mile home if I could and was able to and it didn't feel too bad. I was absolutely exhausted when I finished though.

The only thing I can think is that because of the heat and the hot sun I should have continued to hydrate early on in the run, instead I waited too long and I couldn't recover fast enough.

Mile 1 - 9:25
Mile 2 - 9:25
Mile 3 - 9:16
Mile 4 - 9:31
Mile 5 - 10:17
Mile 6 - 11:44
Mile 7 - 12:40
Mile 8 - 9:06

As logged on my running log over at RunningAhead

Tim Wilson - blog.262quest.com - subscribe - follow

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Tim Wilson - blog.262quest.com - subscribe - follow

Night run and wisdom tooth

I just got back from a very nice night 4 mile run - one of the very few that I have done. I have done some evening runs, but not many this late. I started at about 8:50 pm. The shadows are a bit different in the evening than in the morning. I went out this evening because I only got 2 miles in this morning because my running partner joined me again this morning and he had not run in almost 3 weeks. We were planning on doing 3 miles but he just couldn't get past 2. I wanted to get another run in before tomorrow because I will be getting an impacted wisdom tooth removed and will not be able to run for a few days.

I was very happy with the run and the pace I was able to keep. You can see my splits on my running log here.

Wish me luck for my wisdom tooth, I have been putting this off for 13 years!

Tim Wilson - blog.262quest.com - subscribe - follow

First (kinda) 10 miler

I consider this 10 miler my first (kinda) because I put in up to 14 miles last year before I fell and broke my collar bone. Sure I had put 10 milers in before running my half marathon, but after nearly 8 months off running trying to heal that collar bone, this is truly another first.

I just got back from running a nice easy paced 10 miler. I intentionally ran a nice easy pace because I wanted to complete it and I wanted to complete it strong. My mile splits can be found here

Immediately following my 10 mile run I went back out for a nice 1 mile run with my daughter. I have to admit I really didn't feel like running another mile, but I always enjoy running with her. She has a new pair of running shoes and she wanted to try them out before next weeks running club at school.

Till next time - have a Happy Easter!

Tim Wilson - blog.262quest.com - subscribe - follow

I Rock!!

I am very happy with this run - I set out to run a tempo run, pretty much trying to run it as fast as I could without killing all my energy in the first mile. My goal was to run progressively faster throughout, knowing the last mile was about 1/3 tough uphills...... not to mention the wind at 13 mph gusting to 23 mph.

The weather also played a part in my run this morning at just 36 degrees..... yea, you heard that right.... 36 degrees, in April, in Atlanta!

I usually do not run very fast in the morning, because I just don't seem to have the energy. This doesn't bother me, because I know I am getting a good workout, and when I run in the afternoon I can always run faster and longer with less effort.

Today's run was only three miles, but if I would have continued the next .1 to make it a 5k I would have beaten my latest 5k race time by about 45 seconds.

Splits:

8:43
8:07
8:05

Or you can see my results on my RunningAhead Log (or always listed on the right panel)

Tim Wilson - blog.262quest.com - subscribe - follow

Rain, rain, and more rain

The weather.com website said 61 and light rain. I had been fooled by this before.

I waited for my running partner but I knew that he may not show so I didn't wait long. 5:25 I was out the door committed to 4 miles, rain or no rain. The run started off with light rain just like the website said, but a half a mile into my run it started to rain pretty heavily. This continued for about a mile and then tapered off to almost nothing. Another mile went by and the heavy rain returned.... this time it was here to stay.

I ran a good 4 miles, and was absolutely drenched when I walked in the door. I even had to pull the inserts out of my shoes so they will have an attempt at drying before my next run. If there ever is a time that I wouldn't need to shower following a run.... this just may be it.

Tim Wilson - blog.262quest.com - subscribe - follow