What The Mind Believes, The Body Achieves

I have done it.

A week ago I got asked by Jill at karate if I had cracked the twenty minute mark yet on my running of 5K.  I informed her that I had not as I had taken to running 10K on Saturday mornings simply because that was the day that they best fit.  What that meant was that I no longer had an ideal ‘time trial’ day to run to try to achieve my 5K time goal.  It made me think that it was about time I take another crack at getting under twenty minutes. 

On Wednesday I decided that I would do just that, and so I was sure to not go running from then until this morning.  It is a bit funny how all this conspired though.  A friend of Amber’s and mine, Caroline, had decided to make this weekend a ‘day in the life of’ photo day** on Facebook, and Amber decided to start snoring at about 5AM.  I could not get back to sleep.  I got up and figured that if I am up this bloody early on a Saturday I might as well make use of it.

I got my gear on and took a couple pictures after clearing off my camera/phone/device of wonder and set out to begin running just around 6:40ish. I was pumped I knew that the achievement was possible, I just had to focus.  Each step had to have drive and purpose behind it or I was not going to make the desired time.  Once I got to where I start the run I just bolted!  My first 500m was done in about 2:36 and my first kilometre was over at about 3:45.  That, readers, is fast.

When I came to the last 1/2 lap (To make 5k you have to run around my block 4.5 times) I had about 2:30 to make it to the finish in order to just eek out a time of 20:00.  I poured it on!  My strides were larger and quicker than ever before and I was dying for air by the time I had about 100m to go. When I passed the stop sign that is right by my house I hit my stop watches button and checked the time.

19:48

Victory. Just as the clouds started to open up and rain, I finished in under twenty minutes.  It turns out to be a very good thing Amber woke me up and I could not get back to sleep as now (and for the last hour almost) it has been pouring outside right during the time I would normally be running.  Funny how it all works out sometimes.

I set this goal back in January and honestly a few months ago I really did not think that I would do it.  Not because I didn’t have the dedication, but I just didn’t think I would be able to physically do it.  It just goes to show that if you really want to accomplish something, it can be done, you just have to put in the effort.

5K road running times since January***

** I’ll post the day in the life photos here too!

*** I am pretty specific about my time comparisons, this is all just running on the road for 5K, there are separate charts for 10K, on trails or similarly uneven courses and treadmill times.