Wow, so on Friday, I finished the couch to 5K. While I felt a tremendous sense of accomplishment, I was disappointed that I could not finish the 3.1 miles in 30 minutes time. I ran the 30 minutes, but only averaged about 2.65-2.75 miles in that time.
Someone posted on the Active.com forums that after finishing the C25K they repeated weeks 6-9 and ran for distance rather than time this go around. I think I will try that. I'm going to post a question in active.com and explain my situation and see what people suggest.
Friday was a perfect night to run. Rachel and I went to see Wicked on Thursday night and got home after 11PM, so I didn't run like I normally would on a Thursday. Friday evening I was pretty tired, and didn't feel like running. We met Jennifer and Jonathan for dinner, and that perked me up a bit. So once Max went to bed, I got into my running gear and headed out. I got started a bit later than usual, the sun had already set by the time I started. The weather was gorgeous, it felt like early autumn weather. The air was cool and crisp. Forgot to take a screenshot off of weather.com, but I estimate the temperature was probably around 72-75 with low humidity.
I had really been struggling finishing my runs. So this time out, I started out a nice easy pace. I felt like I got stronger as I progressed through my run. I forget which song it was, but about 2 miles in a song I liked came on, and I got that happy feet feeling. I picked up my pace and headed for home. As I crested the hill near home, I saw the full moon shining down on me. A very cool site, on a cool, summer evening. The next song on my iPod was "Running Down a Dream" by Tom Petty. I thought the timing was awesome, since I had a bit of the "full moon fever" at that point. I finished my run REALLY strong. When I had about 1 minute left, I was on Thrift down near the corner. I began to sprint, and I felt like my speed was great. I was running very smoothly and in control, but felt like I was running fast. I continued to sprint until I hit 2.75 miles then slowed down and turned off Nike+. I ran for almost an extra minute, but I really wanted to get more distance than I did the night before.
It was nice to finish the 5K feeling so good. I read another persons C25K finishing experience, and they described it as feeling like Rocky Balboa. When he finished, he threw his hands up and did a little shadow boxing. I didn't do that, but I felt very loose and pumped up. Showered and finished the evening by watching Swamp People with Rachel. What a great day!
Distance Run: 2.76 miles
1st Mile: 11:16
2nd Mile: 11:22
Total Time: 30:57
Calories Burned: 301
Temperature: 75 (estimate)
Humidity: low (guessing)
