Sunday morning I went for a little run: five miles, with 1,425 other people.
Sunday was the 27th running of the Coeur d’Alene Spring Dash. Funny since Mandy and I had never heard of it, and she grew up here. Shows how much we pay attention to local offerings.
I like to run. It’s one of the few physical/sports activities that I feel like I am somewhat good at. I’ve been getting out a few days a week on lunch while at work. I usually have time to get in 3.5 – 4.75 miles, depending on how I feel that day. This was my first outside run of 5 miles (I’ve done 5 and 6 miles on the treadmill this year). I hadn’t run in a timed race like this since I did Bloomsday in 1996, and I was far from a runner then. Not that I’m all that much of one now. I do ok, but I’m no athlete by any means. It’s something I enjoy doing and that I want to get better at. It’s good for my health, my heart, and my head.
I took off on Sunday with two goals: a) maintain an 8 mph average over the 5 miles and b) finish in 40 minutes or less. If I did the first, I should be able to do the second. I use my Suunto T3 watch with a FootPod to track my speed and distance while I run. It’s a good gague: when I saw myself dipping down to 7.5 mph I kicked it up; if I were pushing 9 mph, I dropped back a hair.
According to my watch, I met the 8 mph average, but my time was 40:14, a few seconds over. (Interestingly enough, I learned that either their route was off or my FootPod needs calibration: it claimed the route was 5.35 miles.) My official time was 40:17 which was good for 174th place. The lead runner came in at just under 25 minutes.
Overall, I was pleased with the run. It was fun, I only got cut off once, my legs felt great throughout, and I stayed warm enough. My favorite part of the day was Mandy and Miranda watching me come across the finish line. Mandy said that it was cool and that she was proud of me. Who could ask for more?
I know I am not in the best of shape and am not the fastest runner, and I don’t do the longest distances, and I am fine with that. I don’t post about this stuff to brag but because I enjoy it. I’m 38 and would bet in the best shape I’ve been in in the past 15 years. I may weigh more than I did when I was, say, 30, but the 30 year old me could not have run 5 miles; even 4.
It was an encouraging run, and I want to do more. There is a half-marathon in May, but I’m not sure I’m ready for 13.1 miles. I need to get out more than I do now and do some longer distances. But, I am going to keep my eye on the calendar and see what other events are coming up that I can get out and enjoy.
