5k today

I did another 5k today (my second).  I did improve my time, but not as much as I would have liked.  My first one was about 37:30 and this one was 36:45.  I guess that's a decent improvement, but I would have liked to made it into the 35s.  I guess there's always next time. The one good thing is that I ran the whole first mile.  I'm trying to slowly build up so that I can run more and more of it.  It has been kind of slow going, but that was the most I had ever run all at once - the first mile took me 10:49, I think I was at the 2nd mile at about 23 something.  I don't mind walking some, but it seems once I start walking, it is that much harder to run for an extended time - does that make sense?  I was probably running 2-3 minutes and then walking for 15-30 seconds, sometimes longer. How do I increase my stamina?  Just keep putting in the time and slowly increasing it? Anyhow, the weather was beautiful - sunny and in the 50s.  There were times I wished I had worn shorts, but it was pretty brisk before and after the race.  I've got my sprint triathlon in June, not sure if I'll do anymore organized 5ks before then.

It IS harder to start running again after stopping to walk.  The only thing I can think of that would help would be to run a little slower when you want to stop and walk and kind of catch your breath instead of walking.  Just keep your feet moving and it will be much easier as you go along.  Keep it up, you're doing just fine.  Linn

Way to go.  A 45 second improvement is nothing to be annoyed with.  Celebrate it!   At different times in my breif running career, I have followed the Galloway method of running where he advocated walk breaks as a way to run farther, recover faster and stay healthy.  It may take a little time to get used to but I have actually gotten used to resuming running after walk breaks.  I probably won't take any during a 5K but I will during training runs and anything longer than a 5K race.  After you establish a real solid base I will fill you in on the secret to running really fast -- speed workouts! Good luck.

Thanks for the support.  Since I ran the first mile in 10:49 (the longest I had run continuously before was 8 minutes), I'm feeling pretty good about just slowly increasing the amount of time I run before walking.  Then I can start working on speed.   Anyhow, I'm working to focus on the miracle that I am running at all and not feeling pain from it and trying not to focus on the numbers.  I tend to be a numbers person, so that is hard for me.

I'll take any time improvement, so I think what you did is great.   Our marathon training group has us doing intervals to increase running time.  I'm doing 3 minutes of running and 3 of walking, so I am having to run again after walking.  But I am walking faster now than before, and it is getting easer to start running again.  Once I get into it, I can run the 3 minutes without a whole lot of trouble, but maybe it's because I know it won't be but a few minutes before I can walk again.  But you do whatever works for you. Marcia