Wednesday, June 27, 2012

30-Minute Curse

The first time I ran a 5k, I ran it in 27 minutes.  It was an intramural 5k race during my second year of college.  The checkpoints notified me that I ran my first mile in 8 minutes, my second in 9, and my third in roughly 10 minutes.  Now as I look back, I think to myself, 'Wow, I could run an 8-minute mile?'  That was my first time ever doing a timed, long-distance run, and it would be my most successful.

In high school I clocked a 7:09 mile officially in a gym class.  I clocked a 6:58 mile at home, unofficially, on a sports watch.  These aren't record-breaking running speeds, but if you look at me, I really don't look like I should be able to run very fast.  I'm not an NFL lineman after all.

Ever since that first 5k, I've never been able to run another one under 30 minutes.  I call it my 30-minute curse.  When I blew the Krispy Kreme Challenge out of the water a few months ago, I was sure that my next 5k was going to be the one.  I was going to break the curse.  Well, it turns out that the inaugural Jean Farris Run & Sip 5k would not be the one.  (They spelled my name "Rub" and considered me a 22-year-old, but my time was right.)  30:15.  I would have been more than happy with 29:59, but no, I lost 16 seconds in there somewhere.  Who couldn't make up 16 seconds somewhere along the route?!

Now, I'm training to run the Bluegrass 10k on the 4th of July.  I'm looking for one more 5k to run soon after that.  If I can manage to get my time under 30 minutes, I'll be more than happy to retire my running shoes.  Then, maybe, I could dance more ;)

Happy Dancing,
~RoB

1 comment:

  1. Take a look at your 10k time and see how it compares to your 5k time.. some people take longer to warm up than others and 3 miles just isn't enough time to get loose enough to really run!

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