Friday, October 28, 2011

5K Goal Mission Accomplished!

The sub-20 5K goal was set back in 2006. Between a partially torn Achilles in 2007, finding bad dieting for a while (the effects of “I can afford to eat anything?!” after grad school), running again in 2009 (talked about my goal in the “Last Lecture” series) only to find myself off track again, it has been a journey. So the commitment to fitness and losing about 20lbs., increasing my leg strength, and intervals lead to today on the treadmill (who I have had some other battles with recently) on a post-workout cardio run.

Not sure what it was but basically I was at 10:02 at the 1.5 mile mark going at a 6:00/mile pace, I felt good and I said (probably out loud) "we are in touching distance of a sub 20:00 3-mile” (still recognizing that a 5K is 3.1 miles) so I increased the tempo with the idea that I would do it for a 40-second interval. I kept it going at about 5:40/mile pace until I reached the 2-mile mark at 13:00 and dropped it back to the 6:00/mile pace knowing I could clinch the 3.1 mark at 19:40. I hung in there... and finished with a flurry and was at 19:30 at the 3.1 mile mark.

I can only say it’s amazing when you accomplish something like this. There were no cameras, no cheering, no fanfare but just a bewildered person on the treadmill next to me wondering why I was pumping my fist in my cool down. That’s the glory of running and the glory of sport… finding yourself believing you can do anything in life on a Friday afternoon at New York Sports Club gym in the East Village.

Special thanks to Stephanie who set this goal for me many eons ago and all the people who trudge along in the gym trying to become better simply for the most important person: yourself.