Beginners can post their logs here, or in the "training week" thread, or
anywhere else they like, it's an unmoderated group. No run too short. No
pace too slow.
Here's mine - I had a short jog on Saturday, then a 5K race on Sunday. I
was hoping and expecting to run faster than my last (and only other) 5K,
i.e. just under 30 minutes. I wasn't trying to run hard in that race,
and I can run faster in training now than I could then, so I was
confident of a PB - that was my first mistake. Despite running hard this
time I took over 31 minutes, which was disappointing and confusing. I
didn't blow up, I went out fairly easy although not as easy as last
time, and I picked it up gradually as I went. There were no distance
markers so I just had to guess my pace, and that takes more experience
than I've got, obviously. The course was undulating, but my usual
training routes are undulating and I have often run them faster than I
ran this. Bits of the course were cross country but not proper "lose a
shoe in the ankle-deep mud" cross country, just "run across some grass"
cross country. From about 26 minutes onwards I kept expecting to see the
finish line around every bend, but it didn't come until later than I
expected. When it did come, it was on a field of rough, tussocky grass,
but I did my best for a fast finish. There was a woman ahead of me
plodding slowly to the line, and when I caught up with her I shouted
"Sprint!" on an impulse. She did, and we both raced each other to the
end - she finished ahead of me by a nose, but it was a fun finish to the
race.
The rest of the week I continued to plod slowly, except for Thursday
which went well. I'm off to Ireland tonight to spend a week in my
parents' house in Co Limerick. I'm really looking forward to running
over there. It's beautiful, but they live on the side of a valley so
I'll get lots of practice on hills. See you all when I get back.
--
Mel Rimmer