Lowered My 5K Time

     Lowered my best recent 5K time by one minute, completing the No Excuses 5K in 40:34.  Since I haven't been running much lately and my training has taken a bit of a dive, I couldn't be  more pleased.  This is an fun run that uses an age-graded formula that I can not attempt to explain or understand.  What I do know is that my age-graded time was 34:50!  I can't complain about that.  Some day that will hopefully be my actual time.  I did this same race in 2005 and finished in 50:19.  I will take a 10 minute improvement in 5 years.  It's progress!
     It was also great to share this race with a first-timer from my running group.  She did awesome.  Afterwards we went out for breakfast and plotted out our training leading up to Nike.  I may have even convinced someone to train for a marathon with me in November!

NYC

The plan was to run AROUND Central Park on Friday before my conference began but sleep took precedence.  I did however manage to run TO Central Park Sunday morning as the map and the pictures below show.  I even managed to take a blurry camera photo!   I took a bunch of pictures once I was in Central Park and these were the best which speaks of my photographic skills or my intense running that fogged up the camera lens.  At least, that's what I am going to tell myself.
    

My favorite part of the run was running back through Times Square.  I had managed to walk there Friday night to see Million Dollar Quartet which had rockin' music and was quite enjoyable.  However, Times Square was much too crowded for my taste.  So running through it in the early morning hours was more my speed.  It was almost entirely empty but just as lively with all the colors and lights.  

Look at how many Broadway Shows I was able to capture in a single picture!  My kind of place.

   

Presidential Mile

It's the beginning of the month which means time for presidential fitness testing and the one mile run.  How I dreaded these exercises when I was in school but I was looking forward to it today with such anticipation.  I felt confident that I could improve on last month's time of 15:39.  I took a different strategy this time.  I felt pretty sure that I could not run an entire mile continuously at race pace so I set out with 5 minutes of running and one minute of walking.  When that first walk break came, I was so ready!!  But then I started running again and when the second walk break came, I was so close to finishing I kept running.  My new presidential mile time is 12:27!!!!  I can now run a mile in 12 minutes and 27 seconds.  Unbelievable!   What a difference just one month can make!  And one of my running buddies also did her presidential mile test today and improved her time by 2 minutes.  It's amazing.

The even more amazing news and proof of progress is that I am no longer in the <5%ile.

I am now in the 23 %ile for girls 17+ (emphasis on the +!) AND the time actually puts me above the 50%ile for ages 6-8.  I couldn't say that I was average or even above average on this chart last month, so I am very pleased with my progress.  Now, I can't wait until June for the next presidential mile!  This will help keep me motivated during the month of May.

Half Marathon Number 11

     Finished Half Marathon Number 11 Today.  The first 9-10 miles were fantastic.  After that everything went figuratively downhill but unfortunately it was literally uphill.  

     It was the first race that I've ever done that started off with bagpipes.  It was neat to see and hear them getting warmed up with the sun still rising through the oak trees.  And then, they marched from the back of the starting line pack all the way to the starting line to kick off the race.  After the start they lined the sides of the course.  It was a nice change of pace.
     This particular race ran an out and back course along the river trail.  I was feeling good during the first half of the race.  I was running 4:15 and walking 1:00 and was keeping a nice pace.  I didn't particularly enjoy the stretch on top of the levee because it's nearly impossible to find a flat surface to run on which tends to aggravate my feet.  I made it to the turn around and half way mark at 1:27 so I began thinking that another sub 3 hour half marathon would be mine.  But it wasn't to be.  It was super warm today and by mile 9 I could really feel it.  Even though I was fueling and hydrating appropriately, my legs weren't having it.  People began to drop like flies.  The medical folks were tending various people at the aid stations or on the side of the course.  I didn't want to become one of them.  So at about mile 10, I began to do more walking than running.  Did I mention the way back on the course we were running upriver which is another way of saying uphill?  It was brutal for me.  It took me almost 50 minutes to finish the last 3 miles.   Not exactly the race I hoped to run but I finished.  With a time only 10 minutes slower than 2 weeks ago, I feel confident that I will be able to better my 1999 time sometime this year.  Right now,  I am just grateful that my body has allowed me to complete 11 half marathons in 8 months.