One of my "atomic" habits I'm trying to instill is to get up earlier in the day. One big reason for this is that most running races are held on Saturday mornings, usually around 7-9. I have missed quite a few of them since resuming regular running in 2007, so getting up at 6 am today was for me a big accomplishment...of course, having the previous night off as I begin a week's vacation didn't hurt! I took advantage of my early rising to run, for the eleventh time, in Gainesville's free weekly 5K race, held Saturday mornings at 7:30 in beautiful Depot Park, just a few blocks south of downtown. Although the humidity was high, the temperature was pleasantly in the upper 50s...and the runners and walkers were exuberant and positive, spanning from childhood to old age and looking like a sampling from the United Nations: awesome! I was trying out my Nike Air Monarch shoes, the brand I wore in several races a few years ago including a number of half-marathons...my feet had been hurting in recent races when I wore lighter shoes, and I wanted more padding, even if it meant the shoes were heavier. So, I planned to go slowly today, picking 36 minutes as a reasonable finishing time. Although being at the back of the crowd (it took me some twenty seconds just to reach the starting line) and I deliberately went super-slow at the beginning, I managed to finish with a time of 34:02, definitely far from my fastest but better than expected. I'm happy to report that these shoes worked well...my feet are definitely grateful! Even though I may not run in this event on a weekly basis, I do think it would be beneficial for me, as a matter of habit, to get up early on Saturday mornings in the future since I already have a 3.3 mile running course laid out through my neighborhood. You can see today's Depot Parkrun 5K race results by clicking HERE...
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment