1.21 gigawatts

six months after rediscovering some personal discipline, i’m rolling along with around with ten pounds less than i used to carry. for what it’s worth, my drivers license is less than factual as i’m five less than what it states. some of the credit goes to hitting the salad bar at lunch versus my usual gargantuan or burrito bowl. granted, the only way i can do (spinach) salad is to slather it with (fat-free) french dressing. some of the credit also goes to refocusing my attention to training. the way i’ve been accumulating miles (as of late) burns calories at a rate that is difficult (but not impossible) to keep up with.

so what’s my motivation? among other things, the inevitability of beginning my forties has sparked a renewed sense of urgency. in all honesty, the window of opportunity for something like running a sub-3 marathon is closing as time marches on.

regardless, i dropped a 5K effort last friday night that i haven’t pulled off in years and actually closer to a decade. (no, there wasn’t a DeLorean involved.) i toed the line at the St. Mary’s Belltower 5K Run and mustered the following splits…

1 Mile – 5:55
2 Mile – 6:00 (11:55)
3 Mile – 6:06 (18:01)
0.1 Mile – 0:25 (18:26)

…on a predominantly out-and-back course. (great scott!!)

i’ve run faster at this race including a 17:58 (2003) and a 18:15 (2002); and am rather up front with the fact that i show up for an occasional 5K to get my rear kicked by high schoolers. this year was no different as the (soon to be senior in high school) son of my friends Paul & Susi won the race in 16:58. he was followed by a recently graduated teammate of his for second place. i rolled across the line in third overall (also first for the M30-39 age group) with a few high schoolers behind me. the added bonus for the effort was that my name was drawn for a gift certificate towards the purchase of a Road ID bracelet, which has been on my to-do list for awhile.

so what does this mean? good question, but i haven’t quite figured that out yet.

what i continue to do is stay focused on the “now” which means logging miles, eating appropriately and keeping my right achilles in check. at some point, i’ve got to get something in mind for a fall race. in the meantime, i’ve got one more race planned before exiting the M35-39 age group…permanently.

6/16 – 8 miles
6/17 – 9 miles
6/18 – 7 miles
6/19 – 10 miles
6/20 – 5 miles
6/21 – 9.25 miles
6/22 – 2 mile warm up, 5K in 18:26, 2 mile cool down
6/23 – 6 miles
6/24 – 6.25 miles
6/25 – 8 miles
6/26 – 7 miles

MTD – 191.25 miles (25/26 days)
YTD – 1089.5 miles (156/176 days)
Odometer – 33,815 miles

26. June 2012 by Jerry Cameron
Categories: Running | Tags: , | Comments Off on 1.21 gigawatts