Fall Five Miler - Race Report

Above: The swag!!

In spite of my complaints, I did my 5-miler yesterday evening. When I got off my vanpool to get to the gym, I felt like I was going to pass out in what felt like 100+ degree heat and slightly smoky air. So much for Fall, huh?! So Cal is awesome.....?

I hopped onto a treadmill at my workplace's gym, turned the industrial fan toward me, and started off running an 8:57 min/mi pace. It was around 3:30 PM. My goal was to finish this run in 45 minutes, hoping to get it done before "The Ukrainian" showed up.

As usual, the treadmill TV kept me entertained. I was watching an episode of Full House on ABC Family. And also as usual, my iPod was on.

I felt pretty good as I rounded out the 5K mark. It was slightly after that point that "The Ukrainian" showed up early and asked me if I was going to FitMoves class. I said I'd be done by 4:15, but he was like, "Probably more like 4:18." Grr, he of little faith. By the last parts of my run, I was going 7.5 mph (8 min/mi) and finished the run in about 44:20. I spent a minute or so walking and headed to my class for 25 minutes of circuits.

Thus ended my little first-day-of-Fall race. I had to drive 30 miles straight away to a classmate's house to work on a project, so my post-workout nosh was half a Clif bar and most of a bottle of Vitamin Water. This was later supplemented by a few jelly beans and a cup of Honey Nut Cheerios with vanilla soymilk.

Today, I feel as though most of my body has been treated with a meat tenderizer, but oh well. I'm happy that I got this run done. I would have done somewhat less had it not been for this, so anything that can whip me back into running/racing shape is helpful. Thanks for the great idea, RunningLaur!

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Original Post: Monday, September 14, 2009

Next Tuesday (September 22) marks the first day of the long-awaited autumn! I signed up for RunningLaur's Fall Five Miler as an incentive to run that day. I will post my "race report" above this entry, so for now, this post is serving as sort of a place-holder.

I'm not sure if I will run more than 5 miles, but the commitment I made was to do at least that.

And I did not promise to do this outdoors, either. I run around my workplace, and at the hour that I have time to go, people are starting to leave work and have had "sightings" that I don't exactly enjoy. Plus, all the exhaust from their cars heading home for the day can't be good for me.

Either way, any way to commit me to a run these days is much-appreciated...

Fall is great, though in actuality, I'm sure the weather will remain summer-like until Halloween. Which reminds me... I gotta get started on my costume -- I put it off due to not wanting to stress myself out too much while I recover from my exams and start vamping my next steps (dissertation, field hours -- i.e., looking for an internship in a tough market!).

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A Case of the Runs

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