Run like the wind....if the wind is blowing really slow.

I had my first 5k of the summer today.  You'll remember I had another race last weekend where the main focus was to just finish because the heat index was so high.  Today, the race was at 8, and not near as humid.  I had been running 2 times a week or so and have consistently gotten right around 30 minutes, and the last month I have been able to get 29 minutes and a little change....which made me VERY happy as this was a goal I had set for myself last year.

So I got a bit jazzed for today's race because I figured it would be the first "official" race where I break 30 minutes.  I was getting passed in the beginning a bit, tried not to let it shake me.  I'm not racing other people....I'm not running their race....I'm running my own and my competition is the clock.  So did I win?  Not quite.  My time was 33:32.  Almost my worst 5k race time ever.

I did my first 5k last August in IA, 2nd and 3rd in September in MN.  Here are my times
1. 34:xx  (walking & running)
2. 31:xx  (walking & running)
3. 30:13  (walking & running)

I only remember the last time exactly because it got me really pumped and proved to me that I CAN break 30 minutes.  But come on - I run the WHOLE three miles and I could have done better walking???

Today, my one mile time was 9:20......second mile was 19:30..........so then how the hell do I dump out a 14 minute mile at the end???  I didn't walk....I didn't feel like I slowed down.  If anything, I pushed harder the last 1/4 mile.

The winner with the fastest overall time was an 18 year old guy with 18:23.  That seemed slow to me too...I usually see winners with times in the 15-16's.  Funny thing is, I finished 2nd in my female age group.  Yeah, that's out of 6....but still.  So I'm questioning the length of the race.....ya know, gotta find something to blame so I don't have to point the finger at myself.

There's another 5k next weekend.....but I think I'm going to skip that one and plan a longer run here at home instead.  I've got another race August 20th, where it should work for John and the kids to come watch.  And there may be another one yet in September.

So I'm bummed my numbers aren't going down.  But as I was thinking about it, isn't that everyone's complaint?  If you're trying to lose weight....don't you get frustrated every so often that the #'s aren't going down?  Maybe even rising a bit?  I'm not in it to lose weight, but I think performance is the same thing - sometimes #'s just don't go down and we should all just be happy that we are active and getting out there to DO it.  Yeah, I'm trying....but tell that to my head.