Friday, January 1, 2010

Starting the New Year on the right foot . . .


. . . by running in a 5K Race today! :)

Happy New Year! Today's race was a local 5K Hangover Run, named so because it is held every year on New Year's Day.
Here's a photo of my runner's tag and the t-shirt that was given out to participants. Pretty cool that I was No. 3 when there were upwards of 500 runners there today. Before the race, I crossed paths with the girl with No. 1 and we eyed each other. I don't know why we caught each other's eye, but it was funny.



The weather was perfect for a winter run today: clear, almost sunny with temperatures around 35 F (2 C) and no wind. The no wind is a huge plus because that wind chill factor is brutal on winter running. There's snow on the ground from yesterday, but fortunately it warmed up enough that most of whatever precipitation accumulated on the pavement had melted. In fact, there was only one small section of the route that was a bit slushy, but since no one ahead of me looked like they were slipping, I just ran through it like everyone else.

I finished the 5K (3.1 miles) in 34:35. I think. Or was it 35:34? Or maybe 34:50? Hmm... I'll have to wait for the race results to get posted before I know for sure. Right now I feel good that it's January 1, 2010 and I was out running and in a race no less. Even better, I know I ran an 11 minute mile pace in this race as opposed to the 12 minute mile pace I ran in the 5 Mile Run back in November. I know today's race was a lot shorter than the one in November, so my pace doesn't necessarily indicate improvement. It's probably just because I slow down the longer I run, so my average pace is slower in longer races. Makes sense, right? Still, I'm happy with today's pace. Now if only I could run closer to a 10 minute mile . . .

Actually, I think I'm going to make that one of my fitness goals for 2010! To run a 5K in 31 minutes by January 1, 2011. I think that's a serious challenge for me, but it's my goal nonetheless.

What are your fitness goals for 2010?

Wishing you all a happy and healthy New Year!



January 4, 2010
Edited to add: I checked the race stats online and I ran the 5K in 34:51 which puts my pace at 11:12.9. Not too bad, but I'd still love to get my pace in the 10 minute range. :)

18 comments:

  1. You are amazing. I did nothing athletic today.

    I kind of hustled to my diet Coke, that was as close as it got for me.

    :)

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  2. That is incredible you are great...my goal is just to be athletic at all haha.

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  3. Wow! Way to go!

    Happy New Year!! :)

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  4. Happy New Year! 35 degrees sounds like heaven. LOL! It's -8 here.

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  5. Great time Christine - WOW! I don't have any fitness goals...but I should. Maybe just running 5 km. Actually, part of me would love to try a triatholon..there are a number of women's triatholons at this time every year. Maybe that should be my goal for next year?

    The weather was perfect for a winter run today: clear, almost sunny with temperatures around 35 F (2 C)...

    Two? BRRRRRRRR! Here, the high today is 26 degrees Celsius...

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  6. Congrats on that time, Christine. Way to go!

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  7. Nice way to start the new year, Christine!

    I remember you had a goal a few years ago. I believe it was something you wanted to achieve by the end of 2008. I wonder if you ever accomplished that one :P! You know the one I'm talking about, right? *wink*

    I wish you all the best with your goal for this year!

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  8. I definitely bow to you, Christine, you are an inspiration to me. (Even if I would never voluntarily run 500 feet, let alone 5 kilometers, but that's another story... :wink: )

    My fitness goal is to get back into my workout program (it's a Beachbody program, with six days of working out followed by a rest day). I'm going to keep a diary of it, perhaps even online, to increase my motivation.

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  9. Good for you Christine!! Are you going to start a collection of tags and t-shirts? :)

    In case I haven't told you yet, Happy New Year!! :D

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  10. Kudos to you! Running a 5K race is a great way to start out the year.

    Good luck on your goal!

    Happy 2010!

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  11. Happy New Year Christine and Congratulations!!

    Awesome accomplishment...

    Best to you and your family..

    L

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  12. WTG! You did great! And wow, already started on a goal for this New Year.
    I am going to try and try new things athletically this year. I wanted to try fencing when it was offered this past year and chickened out, so I want to be better about that this year.
    I hope you and yours are happy and healthy!

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  13. Thanks for all the praise and encouragement on my 5K! You guys are awesome cheerleaders! :)

    My running group instructor has since emailed me a training schedule to train for a half marathon (13 miles) in April. OMG she's like the energizer bunny! LOL! I think I'm going to pass on the half marathon until I get more miles under my feet, but will do a 5 Mile Race in March that she has in the training schedule, as well as the 5K in April that I mentioned in my post. I think that'll keep me focused on running through the winter just fine.

    Michelle, Caitlin & J. Kaye, thanks for the kudos! :)

    Anna, -8 F is freaky cold. Brrrr!

    orannia, you should definitely train for a triathlon. My gym is having a mini indoor triathlon in February, but I'm going to pass because I don't have the time to commit to training right now, especially the swimming part which would be my weakness. There is a woman's triathlon hosted by Danskin that is in September every year that I've been toying with doing for a couple of years. Maybe we should both make that our fitness goal for 2011!

    26 C (78.8 F) sounds PERFECT right about now. It was a very brisk -7 C (21 F) today, and that's not counting the wind chill!

    Amy, I'm still working on that one. *wink*

    azteclady, good luck with your fitness goal, too! I have thought about journaling my health and fitness progress somehow, too. Over the summer I kept a log of my bike rides with the date, time, route, distance, average speed, and so on. It was encouraging to watch my total miles climb 100s of miles. If you do journal it online, let me know. Maybe we can do it together.

    nath, I am keeping my tags for sure. They're like medals of honor. LOL. Thinking I may tape them onto the fridge and pantry doors to discourage snacking. ;)

    Hilcia, Donna, Lea, thanks for the encouragement!

    Brandy, thank you! I do hope you put yourself out there and give fencing a try. I bet you'd love it. Besides, you don't want the kids having ALL the fun, do you? ;)

    Happy New Year, everyone!

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  14. What a great way to start the new year! But geez, that's cold! Says the girl in Phoenix, AZ. :)

    Fitness goals for the new year - the usual lose weight, eat healthy. Specifically get into a daily excercise routine and cut back on diet soda. I drink way too much of it!

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  15. Thanks, Leslie! Good luck with your fitness goal. I've been drinking too much diet soda in the last month or so myself. I used to only drink it with pizza or a burger. I think I need to go back to that.

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  16. I just checked the online stats for the 5K and it turns out my time was 34:51 which puts my pace at a 11:12.9 minute mile. Not too bad, but I'd love to get it in the 10 minute mile range.

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  17. That's a great fitness goal for 2011 :) I'm in!

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  18. Ack!! You're agreeing to the triathlon goal?!!

    Me and my big mouth. LOL!

    Let's do it. =)

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