Pushing Myself

Distance: 3.5 miles
Duration: 33:50
Avg Pace: 9:40 min/mile!!!!!
Route: MapMyRun

Usually when I run, I aim to do a little better than the last run. Defining "a little better" then depends on what my next race is. In the past few months, I've been training to run a 12K (Bay2Breakers), so each run has been about an 11 minute/mile pace but I tried increasing the distances a little more and a little more.

Since B2B has gone and passed, I didn't have much of an aim or goal -- my next race was the next weekend and was the Warrior Dash, which was an obstacle course more than a run... and the next race after that was the 5K in October for the AIDS Walk (have you donated yet? seriously? Send $5 to my page and feel $100 better about yourself! Click here!)

So the past two runs, I decided to push myself a little. I had been running for a while now, content at my heart rate and pace. When I decided to push myself a little, I found a huge improvement. I've always said that one of my goals is to run a 5K in under 30 minutes. I'm pretty sure I can do that now.

And so that I won't get "bored" or just be content with my current norm of running about 3.5 miles, I signed up for an 8K on July 2. (For those that are K-challenged, that's 4.9 miles. Essentially, it's a 5 mile race). So I'll be going back to building up some more miles in the next few weeks.

For now, I'm declaring myself a Ten-Minute-Mile-Runner (no longer an Eleven-Minute-Mile-Runner)!

So behind in updates!

I am so behind in updating! I'll update my log of runs first, then I'll go back later and talk about each run (that I feel like talking about!) -- some I have pictures from!

May 13, 2011
about 3.6 miles
No idea how long it took us, nor what our pace was!!
Map
Beautiful run at "Land's End" in San Francisco with my pal, Joey. MORE to come about this run! I have pictures! I will update a new post about this run, along with the pictures!

May 15, 2011
BAY TO BREAKERS!!!!!
7.43 Miles
1:26:43
11:38 min/mile pace
Map on MapMyRun
Official Map
I will definitely be writing more about this one, too. An amazing race filled with flying tortillas, NAKED PEOPLE, salmon swimming upstream and all sorts of chaos and insanity.

May 19, 2011
2.63 miles
26:41
10:09 min/mile pace
Map
Meh, it was a run. Obviously wasn't that into it... only could go a few miles...

May 28, 2011
3.0 miles
32:38
10:51 min/mile
Map
Not bad - pace was improving, but if I'm going to hit a goal of a 5K in under 30 minutes, I need to step it up a little.

June 2, 2011
3.5 miles
34:09
9.46 minute per mile!!!
Map
Amazing what happens when you push yourself just a little. My heart rate was a little out of control on this run, but I was super happy with the pace. I had told myself that I was going to have to start pushing myself a little