Today I ran my first 5k Race, the Run Around the Square in the Regent Square section of Pittsburgh (near where I used to live in grad school). All in all, it was a very fun experience, and one that I am eager to do again in the near future
Even though I typically do 3.3 mile runs on my own, I still struggled some in the race. The second mile of the race was mostly uphill, and I struggled with that. In fact, I struggled with some sections enough that I did walk portions of the race. I hated to do it, as one of my goals was to run the entire race, but I just wasn’t quite at that point yet (something I’m hoping to work on for next time). Thankfully, the third mile was nearly all downhill, and I was able to pick up the pace to finish strong.
I went into the race with a goal time of 37:12 (a 12min/mile pace), and despite my walking, did still manage to get under that, finishing the race in 36:31 (a 11:47min/mile pace). And that was a time which I was very happy with, considering I really just started running in June at about a 15min/mile pace. Now it will be a matter of building my endurance (and probably better control my pace) for the next time so I can complete a race without the need to walk.
In the end, it was a great experience, and I set a benchmark for me to improve from in the future. Though I may not be a natural runner, I’m enjoying getting into it and pushing myself to do better, and get that competitiveness in me satisfied for a little while longer.
Up next? Well, I’ve got my eye either on Pittsburgh’s Great Race, or ZooZilla at the Pittsburgh Zoo. I’ll probably be deciding shortly which one I’ll do.
Oh, and in the same time, I haven’t been watching what I’ve eaten very well. And what does that lead to? Yep. Weight Gain. It’s only a pound, but it is still going in the wrong direction…