Spartan Fund Run 5K
Last Saturday I ran in my first-ever 5K, the Solon High School Spartan Fund Run. They had a few hundred folks show up, many to do the half-mile and mile walks, another 83 for the 5K, and mabe a few dozen for a 10K. My sister Rebecca had agreed to run it with me, so we got up early and headed down on the 30-minute drive to Solon.
The race was done well; the organization was good, the t-shirt design was pretty decent, and they had procured a bunch of donated food which was good as a late breakfast after the run.
The one thing this 5K had that I hadn't trained for was hills! I didn't realize how flat my neighborhood course is until I got out there and had long uphill climbs at both the beginning and end of the race. And the last half-mile not only did you have to go uphill, but you were running directly into a 15 mph wind. But, we toughed it out. There were 83 competitors in the 5K, and I came in 53rd in a time of 31:12. Rebecca came in 69th in about 35:00. (Reba, leave your exact time in a comment and I'll fix it here.) I didn't get under 30, which had been my goal, but at least it was a good test.
I think I've got the bug; I'm looking for another race around here yet before the season is over. The one that's reasonably close and on a day I could make it isn't a 5K, though - it's a 5-mile. I'm not sure if I'll be ready for that by November 12 or not.
This ‘n’ that
This weekend wasn't too busy, but I wasn't on the computer, so no blog updates.
Rebecca and I ran in the Solon Fund Run 5K on Saturday and did OK. I didn't hit my goal of sub-30-minutes; I finished in 31:12. I'll blame it on a 10 mph headwind and a long uphill the last half mile. Still, it was a lot of fun, and I'm looking for another race to sign up for yet this fall. I'll do a full post with pictures when I get the chance.
Watched a bunch of football over the weekend, the Hawkeyes won, setting up a bit showdown with Ohio State in a couple of weeks, but the Huskers couldn't score the upset over USC. Not that I expected them too, but it would've been cool.
Now it's Monday and back-to-work. I'm going to start working on some new stuff, though, so that should be interesting. Gotta brush up on my C++ coding skills - haven't used them since school!
Oh, and I'm looking forward to next weekend - I'll be heading up to Minneapolis along with Pastor Richard to the Desiring God 2006 National Conference. The list of speakers:
- David Wells
- Don Carson
- Voddie Baucham
- Tim Keller
- Mark Driscoll
And of course John Piper. I can't wait.
This ‘n’ that
This weekend wasn't too busy, but I wasn't on the computer, so no blog updates.
Rebecca and I ran in the Solon Fund Run 5K on Saturday and did OK. I didn't hit my goal of sub-30-minutes; I finished in 31:12. I'll blame it on a 10 mph headwind and a long uphill the last half mile. Still, it was a lot of fun, and I'm looking for another race to sign up for yet this fall. I'll do a full post with pictures when I get the chance.
Watched a bunch of football over the weekend, the Hawkeyes won, setting up a bit showdown with Ohio State in a couple of weeks, but the Huskers couldn't score the upset over USC. Not that I expected them too, but it would've been cool.
Now it's Monday and back-to-work. I'm going to start working on some new stuff, though, so that should be interesting. Gotta brush up on my C++ coding skills - haven't used them since school!
Oh, and I'm looking forward to next weekend - I'll be heading up to Minneapolis along with Pastor Richard to the Desiring God 2006 National Conference. The list of speakers:
- David Wells
- Don Carson
- Voddie Baucham
- Tim Keller
- Mark Driscoll
And of course John Piper. I can't wait.
This ‘n’ that
This weekend wasn't too busy, but I wasn't on the computer, so no blog updates.
Rebecca and I ran in the Solon Fund Run 5K on Saturday and did OK. I didn't hit my goal of sub-30-minutes; I finished in 31:12. I'll blame it on a 10 mph headwind and a long uphill the last half mile. Still, it was a lot of fun, and I'm looking for another race to sign up for yet this fall. I'll do a full post with pictures when I get the chance.
Watched a bunch of football over the weekend, the Hawkeyes won, setting up a bit showdown with Ohio State in a couple of weeks, but the Huskers couldn't score the upset over USC. Not that I expected them too, but it would've been cool.
Now it's Monday and back-to-work. I'm going to start working on some new stuff, though, so that should be interesting. Gotta brush up on my C++ coding skills - haven't used them since school!
Oh, and I'm looking forward to next weekend - I'll be heading up to Minneapolis along with Pastor Richard to the Desiring God 2006 National Conference. The list of speakers:
- David Wells
- Don Carson
- Voddie Baucham
- Tim Keller
- Mark Driscoll
And of course John Piper. I can't wait.
Last training run
Well, my last training run before the Solon 5K on Saturday. I woke up before my alarm this morning (no small feat when the alarm is set for 5:10 am!) and headed out on my usual 3.2 mile course. It was a beautiful early morning, chilly and brisk, the sky bright, clear, and full of stars.
For not having run much the past two weeks, my times were ok:
Mile 1: 7:38. A nice brisk pace.
Mile 2: 9:59 (total: 17:37). Slowed a bit here, was starting to feel it by about the last 1/4 mile.
Mile 3: 10:38 (total: 28:16). That long hill the last quarter mile gets me every time.
Total time: 30:39. Didn't quite get in under 30:00. 
My goal for the 5k on Saturday is to get in under 30:00. Should be a fun test.
It’s Wednesday, but Saturday’s coming
I told myself that I should run a good three times this week in preparation for the Solon 5K on Saturday. After all, I didn't get much running in last week while we were on vacation. I was good on Monday, ran 2 miles, felt decent. I intended to run again this morning, but after not getting to sleep until around midnight, 5 AM for running was just too early. Maybe this afternoon or tonight. I'm thinking today, maybe tomorrow, and then take Friday off to rest. We'll see how it goes.
Otherwise, it's been a fairly uneventful week thus far. Monday night we were home - first Monday night home since softball started back in May! Last night Becky did supper with some friends from church, so I had a night at home with the girls. Then last night I screwed up the Master Boot Record on my basement PC, so I spent the remainder of the night trying to get it wiped and re-loaded. I think it's pretty well wiped now, so hopefully the Sony Recovery disks can do the rest of the work for me.
It’s Wednesday, but Saturday’s coming
I told myself that I should run a good three times this week in preparation for the Solon 5K on Saturday. After all, I didn't get much running in last week while we were on vacation. I was good on Monday, ran 2 miles, felt decent. I intended to run again this morning, but after not getting to sleep until around midnight, 5 AM for running was just too early. Maybe this afternoon or tonight. I'm thinking today, maybe tomorrow, and then take Friday off to rest. We'll see how it goes.
Otherwise, it's been a fairly uneventful week thus far. Monday night we were home - first Monday night home since softball started back in May! Last night Becky did supper with some friends from church, so I had a night at home with the girls. Then last night I screwed up the Master Boot Record on my basement PC, so I spent the remainder of the night trying to get it wiped and re-loaded. I think it's pretty well wiped now, so hopefully the Sony Recovery disks can do the rest of the work for me.
It’s Wednesday, but Saturday’s coming
I told myself that I should run a good three times this week in preparation for the Solon 5K on Saturday. After all, I didn't get much running in last week while we were on vacation. I was good on Monday, ran 2 miles, felt decent. I intended to run again this morning, but after not getting to sleep until around midnight, 5 AM for running was just too early. Maybe this afternoon or tonight. I'm thinking today, maybe tomorrow, and then take Friday off to rest. We'll see how it goes.
Otherwise, it's been a fairly uneventful week thus far. Monday night we were home - first Monday night home since softball started back in May! Last night Becky did supper with some friends from church, so I had a night at home with the girls. Then last night I screwed up the Master Boot Record on my basement PC, so I spent the remainder of the night trying to get it wiped and re-loaded. I think it's pretty well wiped now, so hopefully the Sony Recovery disks can do the rest of the work for me.
More running…
After being a slacker yesterday morning, I got up and did my 5k distance again this morning.
Times:
Mile 1: 8:18
Mile 2: 9:55 (total 18:14)
Mile 3: 10:46 (total: 29:00)
End: 31:29
This was about 20 seconds slower than my Monday run. In fact, that's the exact same time for my first mile, and only 8 seconds slower for my second mile. I guess I'm at least consistent. Now one of these days I can focus on kicking up the pace a little.
The Solon 5K is only 24 days away...
Running
I'm going to make a real effort to do a bunch of running this week. I've been too much of a slacker; I need to crank it up. I ran 5K this morning, it was nice and dark and cool. I made it *almost* 2 miles before I had to walk... I was rather disgusted with myself then that I did walk for 30 seconds or so.
Mile 1: 8:18
Mile 2: 9:47 (total: 18:05)
Mile 3: 10:43 (total 28:48)
End: 31:10
The Solon 5K is less than three weeks away...
