Another MILEstone
I just had a sudden realization. The path around Centennial Park is 3.7 kilometers, which equates to 2.29 miles. Last week with Albert pushing me I managed to finish it in ’round about 22 minutes… which means I ran a sub-ten-minute mile. Whoa! Remember back a few years ago when I was struggling to break 12:00? When the heck did this happen? I am so inspired I think I’m actually going to go the athletics field tonight and run on the track. I haven’t run on a track since high school.
Later: Do you know how many laps around a track you have to run to run ten kilometers? TWENTY FRICKIN’ FIVE. And I did it! My longest run in probably eleven years. Unfortunately I forgot my pedometer so I don’t have an accurate time for it, but going by the watch of the drunk maintenance guy at the field, it took me about 65 minutes or so. And that, my friends, is excellent. I wasn’t pushing too hard at all so I definitely think the 60 is achievable. There weren’t a lot of other people at the field, and towards the end it was just me chugging around while a bunch of guys had soccer practice in the middle. At one point a ball came flying towards me and I picked it up. “I’m American!” I yelled apologetically. “I can’t kick for shit!” So I tossed it back to them as they laughed. “You run good though!” one of them replied. I’m gettin’ there, buddy.
3 responses
You ran 10K on a track in 65 min? Wow. Just, WOW! (Running more than four laps on a track would make me want to bang my head against a wall, repeatedly.)
Now imagine if you were running along a scenic road with tons of people cheering you on. I bet you’d be sub-60 under those conditions for sure!!
well done. i’m very *very* impressed. and perhaps a tiny little bit jealous of your speed! :o)
Not to mention the fact that I got fed up with my iPod headphones slipping out – due to my horrendous sweatiness, thank you HYPNOTIST – so for two-thirds of it I didn’t even have music. I sorta told myself that I’d at least run 20 laps, knowing that when I got there I’d want to do the last five as well. I took a short walk break every few laps, and I didn’t feel like I was really pushing it. I guess it’s not so much that I can sprint faster, but that I can maintain a consistent jogging speed for longer.
And don’t be jealous, Kristen! Confession: I’m only trying to get below 60 because I remember reading on your site that you’d done a 10K in 60. And though I trust Jeff and Tricia and the other runners’ advice, I’ve actually met you and you’re – and please don’t take this as anything but a compliment! – a real normal person who I can measure myself against. They’re all superheroes, but you whinge about exercise just like me! So I figured if you could do it, I could do it too. (I have to say though, with all this crazy cycling you’re venturing into superhero territory yourself! I may need to find a new running hero to emulate…)