Saturday, February 6, 2016

Progress! SLC 5k Report

I ran the first stand alone 5k I've done in about 2 years.  Ben told me to find one to use a progress measuring tool, so I jumped at the chance to do any race, and was super excited about this one.  I couldn't even remember the last stand alone running race I did!  It was so weird not to have a whole race bag to go!  Just running shoes, phone, that's it!

It was super cold out, around 18-20 degrees.  I actually warmed up for the first time ever before a 5k. Ben told me to run for 10-15 minutes prior to the race with some strides mixed in.  I appreciated doing this just for the sake of staying warm!  It was dang cold!

They started calling people to the start and I kind of jumped and ran in place to stay warm until the gun went off.  I then just tried to run comfortably hard, but something maintainable too.  In true Katie fashion, I started off too fast.  I hit the one mile marker and my Garmin said it was an 8:42 mile.  What the????  The good thing  was that I didn't feel like I was dying!

The next mile was the hardest. I kept trying to pick people going about my pace or my desired pace and tried to stay with them.  It wasn't happening.  I seriously felt like I was going so slow, but I looked at my watch and it still said that I was in the high 8, low 9 minute mile range.  I was glad to hit mile 2 and it said 9:02 as the average pace.

The final mile sucked.  I wanted to puke, but I also wanted to be done.  I just kept going until we rounded the corner for the last .1 of the race, then I tried to book it, though I felt like lead!  I was actually extremely winded and light headed on that last .1, but it was fine as soon as I walked around for a few minutes and cooled down.  I couldn't believe what my watch said!


This is my second fastest 5k ever, and way faster than I expected to do.  Thank you Ben!  I guess all those stupid looking running drills, and speed work (I actually really like the intervals, just not the drills) are paying off!  I can't wait to see what the next several months of training bring!

I have noticed progress across the board since training with a coach.  Some would say maybe its just the consistently, but I honestly know I couldn't have done this on my own, for several reasons.  One, I'm just not that consistent in my training on my own.  Having a coach keeps me accountable.  Two, I don't have the knowledge or time to obtain the knowledge to plan my workouts and training plan like he does. There are times I look at the plan and think "What is he thinking?"  but I've learned to trust it and it is paying off.  I am so happy with this!  I've also seen progress in the pool with my average time per 100 yards slowly and steadily dropping.  Bike is sort of hard to gauge at this point since it has been all indoor riding, but I am sure I will see progress there as well.  Heaven knows I need it!

I have 5 weeks until Icebreaker, my first tri of the season.  I can hardly wait!  Happy racing and training all!

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