New running distance PB

New Running Personal Best – 8 kilometers! (That’s 5 miles for you non-metric folks.) Actually I did it once before but I injured myself in the process. I’m feeling pretty good right now. My feet and ankles are sore again, but I’m starting to think it’s just my body adapting to the stress of longer distances*. The really interesting bit is that my pace (12:00/mile) is remaining consistent despite running farther. I’ve set a baseline goal of 80 minutes for the 10K but if I maintain my current pace I should be able to do it in 75. And of course, I’m counting on race day adrenaline to cut it even further. I just might pull this off!

Note: I fully realize that me saying “longer distances” is probably laughable to you guys that run marathons. But take pity on the curvy girls… Five miles is a long way!

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6 responses

  1. well done! 5miles is nothing to be sneezed at.

    i’m interested to hear what others have to say about your pace, since i have the same thing going on. it seems like i always run about the same speed, and although i can run relatively far compared to a year or so ago, i’m not really going any faster. what’s the deal? i want some speed, dammit!

  2. Good job! I’m glad that your ankles are doing alright. You’re wearing good shoes, right? You need to replace them every 500 miles or so.

    You’re going to do great in the 10k!

    My pace is relatively constant regardless of the distance I run. This is very different from the guys I know who can run a 5 K race twice as fast as me, but have slower marathon times. I think it’s a good thing. I think your pace will eventually come down, it just takes a while, and for me, it takes running 4-5 times a week, averaging at least 25 miles a week for several months before I really feel like I’m in “running shape.” (I haven’t been close to that for over 1 1/2 years).

  3. Acme WeeB

    Congrats!!! Soon your feet will just be a blur when you run just like in the cartoons…

  4. eileen

    yay for you! ditto on the shoes comment- your quads and calves should be sore, not so much your feet and ankles. i once got tendonitis on the bottom of one of my feet from running in old sneakers.

  5. Well, my sneakers are probably about 8 months old, but I’m sure I haven’t put anywhere near 500 miles on them. I’ve examined them and they still look pretty new. A little wrinkling in the foam under the heel, but otherwise the base is solid. I thought about getting new ones but it’s only two weeks to the race and I didn’t figure I’d have time to break them in.

  6. Also, I thought maybe some of the soreness could be attributed to the fact that I’m still running primarily on the treadmill. I figure that the bounciness is just having a wonky effect on my feet. (In my defense – It’s winter! I only see about an hour’s worth of daylight outside of work hours. The weekend is the only time I can run outdoors.)