Another one bites the dust...

....and another one down and another one down, another one bites the dust!

Yep that is how I feel right now (cheesy I know). I ran race #4 last night and can honestly say I felt good at the end. Last night was Zoom thru the Zoo 4miler, a bit longer than my usual 5k and I haven't been doing any major running lately so I was a bit nervous. I spent most of the day psyching myself out so that didn't help and I thought I was going to be sick prior to the race (and I want to run a marathon???HA)
Overall time was 47min - not great, but in a effort to do as my coach has requested, I took WAY more walk breaks to try and keep my heart within range.
Here's how it broke down

Mile 1: (9:16 min) I started out good, basically a pretty good jog, nothing fast at all (tried to pace myself). About half a mile into it I felt as if for sure I'd already missed the 1mi marker, there was no way this could be only the first mile. I kept on pushing, debating whether or not I would walk or just keep going. Finally I decided to take a 30sec walk break in an effort to play along with coach Marks training. Of course I still thought I had passed the 1mi marker so it was easier to justify...about a minute later there it was staring me in the face. Hum, is that possible?? My time seems faster than I thought it would be and I'm not moving that fast...maybe I should slow it down.

Mile 2: (21:32) This mile was the hardest of all 4, I felt myself tightening up and keep trying to focus on my breathing which was becoming short and quick. It is usually about here that my sides cramp up and I was trying to breath so this wouldn't happen. The breathing didn't get under control but my sides didn't cramp up either. It was about here that I started letting go of the anxiouty that I started the race with. I focused on breathing and putting one foot in front of the other - this was nothing new to a 5k.

Mile 3: (34:50) I felt like I had hit my groove. I was still taking 30sec walk breaks on a regular basis. This consisted of running 2-3 min with 30sec walk breaks. My muscles seemed to be fairly warmed up, my mind was empty, and I was focused. This mile felt good.

Mile 4: (47:00) It was about here that I thought "I can do this." I don't mean the 4 mi run, but the whole marathon thing. I was hot and sweaty, but generally I felt good. By this time my breathing was undercontrol and it was all about putting one foot in front of the other at this point. Legs and lungs felt good and I seriously thought I could have kept going beyond the finish line.

In the end I was happy to be finished. I am actually not feeling bad at all today from the run and I really think I should up my weekly runs. I realized that the further I run the easier it seems to get (I am finding my groove) and that I am overly nervous to begin the race with. If I focus on my breathing and letting my daily stress go then the run becomes easier (unfortunately it takes a few miles to get this to happen.)

Overall it was a good run - I'm not impressed or thrilled with my time but I tried to do what Coach Mark has asked and if I want his plan to work and I want to succeed at this I have got to try right?

Next race...Gibson Guitar 5k...yippy!