My 3rd 5k

Last Saturday I ran my third 5k. The town I live in had a free 5k so how could I pass it up? I should actually start by letting you all know that I am going to run a half marathon this summer. There. It is official and I can't back out now! I found a training program that starts off running at 3 mile increments.  So I needed to train up to running 3 miles at a time. I went back to the program I used for my first 5k. It is a four week program that gets you up to running 3.1 miles (or a 5k). It just so happened that I found a free organized 5k to run just a few minutes away.

Let's back track to my first 5k. I ran my first 5k last October here is Texas with my husband. This is the training program that I used to get ready for the 5k. I ran the 5k in 33:38 minutes.  In my practice run I ran it in 36 minutes so I was really proud that I ran it faster than I practiced. I felt good about it.

My second 5k was in Utah. We were visiting for Thanksgiving. I ran this 5k with my husband, sister in law and brother in law.  When I say I "ran" it with my in-laws in means we were all in the race. We didn't run together. I am a lot slower than them! My husband always stays with me even though he is faster. I really appreciate that. It was a lot colder in Utah than in Texas. It was pretty cold. I also had strep throat. And I should also mention that I could feel the difference in altitude. It is harder to breathe up so high.  I ran that 5k in 34:34. So about a minute slower than my first 5k. You know what though? I am proud of getting that time seeing as I had strep throat and was not feeling the greatest. To me that is an achievement, running a 5k.

And now back to my 3rd 5k. I am most proud of this one. I ran with my husband. My brother and his wife also ran the race. And a friend of mine ran with her daughter. It was so fun. I felt most prepared for this race because I have been working out pretty consistently since January. Like I mentioned before I went by that 4 week program I did for my first 5k to prepare for this one. I modified it to fit my schedule though. I was doing my runs on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.  I ran this last 5k in 31:47. My best yet! I would love to get my 5k under 30 minutes. I am sure I will be able to. I am proud of the 31:47 though, I really am. It feels good to beat my other race times. It also feels good that I am not continually getting worse.

When I think about it, a half marathon is 4 times a 5k. 4 times!! I am not ready for a half marathon at this point.  But I will be come July. I am excited. I am excited to get my body in running shape. And I look forward to running 13.1 miles and doing it for myself. It will be a great accomplishment!