Posts Tagged ‘2 miler’

The greatest feeling in the world with running is beating a goal. Today all I wanted to do was run a couple of 8-minute miles and finish around 16 minutes in the 2-mile Turkey Trot in Warren, Ohio. Since I haven’t really done much speed work lately and the fact that I haven’t done all that much running since the Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon, I didn’t know what my body would do beyond a mile if I pushed it. The other night my friend Travis and I ran a 7:33 mile as part of a 5-mile run, but I really wondered if I could sustain that for two miles.

Turns out, I can. Today I finished in 14:54.7, a 7:27 pace. In fact, I was actually about 20 seconds faster than that, but since this was not timed with a chip from the beginning, that little bit of extra effort wasn’t “official.” This race did use chips to record the finishers, but there was not a chip timing mat at the beginning. With 1,200 people, and many people starting at the front that shouldn’t have been, a chip mat at the beginning would have been nice to record the times more accurately. Not that I’m complaining — this was actually a very well organized race and all for a good cause. And the long-sleeved shirt is nice too.

Anyway, this short race felt great. It was a nice, cool, somewhat damp start to the day with temperatures in the low 40s. It was actually raining when I warmed up for a mile, making me want to just go into my car, drive back to my in-laws’ house and go to bed. And after yesterday’s awful car ride, I was just exhausted. But I did it, and I’m so happy with the results. In addition to being happy with my time, I was 127th out of more than 1,200 runners and walkers and finished 6th in my age group out of 34.

The real question I have now is can I sustain a pace like that for next week’s 5k? And can I sustain that pace and improve on it this winter to have good races next year? I certainly hope so.

Earlier this year when I ran two races two weeks in a row, I walked away satisfied, but hurt. So now I’m doing it again, but it’s a far cry from a half marathon and a 10k back to back. Instead it’s a 2 miler and a 5k.

Next week I am heading to Ohio to visit the in-laws for Thanksgiving. It’s the second time I’ve been there for Thanksgiving and it will mark the second time that I’m doing the local turkey trot there. I’ve entered the 2-mile race to give myself a speed test. There is a 5-mile race too, but I don’t quite feel up to running 5 miles fast right now. I’m sure I could do OK, but it probably wouldn’t be a boost to my confidence. Four years ago I ran this race in 16:18 in some crazy pouring down snow and extreme cold. It was wild, but fun. This year it’s looking like it’ll be fairly cool in the low 40s with a chance of rain.

I’m pretty sure I can pump out two miles in about an 8-minute pace, so I’m aiming to break that “record” for that distance.

On Dec. 5 I am making the return to the Bedford Christmas Classic, a race I have done three times — two 5ks and a now defunct 10k — before my blogging days. The course is simple — Bedford, Va.’s loop. But it’s not easy. The first mile and a half isn’t bad — it’s mostly downhill. After that a big hill smacks you in your face and separates the field. Every year I’ve done this race it’s been cold — low to mid-30s — but I’ve had fun at each one. My 5k times were 24:51 when I first started running in 2004 and 26:51 the following year when I had let myself get out of shape a little bit. It was that race that kind of sparked me to get in better shape and run the Virginia Ten Miler the following year.

Right now, even though I know I’m not in the shape I’d like to be, I would love to go out and set a course record and PR for a 5k in my 30s (24:45). Now that I’ve been back in Bedford for almost a month and ran the loop several times, I think I can do it. I’ve been running faster by default with Duke and a couple of times with my friend Travis, so I think in race conditions I can step it up. I’ll see how next week goes with the 2-miler first. I need to pass that test before jumping too far ahead.

No matter what, though, it’s nice to be signed up for these community races. In an odd twist with my 5k experience, when I run the race on Dec. 5, that will be my first 5k since last October — more than 400 days. And in looking back at my post, that race was my first 5k in 420 days. I guarantee I’ll run another 5k before March 2011.