Huge 5k progress in a year!

May 2013 vs May 2014

It's been a full year now since I ran my very first race in May 2013: the Ten Penny Shamrock 3.3 miler. Since I was NEVER a runner my entire life, I remember being so proud of myself that day, particularly that I was able to jog the entire time and never had to stop to walk (except for a quick water break here and there). A couple months earlier, I didn't think that was possible! But my sister's trainer convinced her to try it, and she asked me to come too, so I jumped in. That race marked the beginning of a little addition to races, and I did 4 other 5Ks after it last year, improving my time slightly each time. I also incorporated a lot of jogging into my workout routine (lots of 5K jogs around the neighborhood, and even on 2 vacations!), so I was really getting into a running mode. All that stopped when I started CrossFit in September though! 

On May 18th, I ran the same Ten Penny Shamrock 3.3 miler course again so that I could see just how much I've improved in a year, and I am so pleased with the results! I beat last year's time by 6:20! That's huge! I took off almost 2 mins/mile! I was particularly pleased since I haven't run more than a mile straight since my last 5K in October (where I averaged ~11:50/mile). But I've definitely been strengthening my endurance in CrossFit WODs.

2013: 40:56 (~12:40 mile)

2014: 34:36 (~10:48/mile)

I weighed 214 when I ran the race in 2013, and was about 187 this time. So that's "only" a 27 pound difference, but I know my body composition is so much different now than it was then - so much stronger, thanks to CrossFit. And I think my cardio system has improved too - although my heart rate was up, I was able to carry on conversations with some fellow runners into the 3rd mile. CrossFit is doing amazing things for me.

Although we have signed up for some obstacle courses this year and a couple 5K fun runs, I don't really feel that compelled to sign up for lots of timed 5Ks like I did last year. I'd rather focus on CrossFit and the CrossFit throwdowns (like No Baby, Leave the Socks On coming up in July!). Maybe I'll try one more 5K at the end of the year - perhaps repeat the Y's 5K Spooktacular on the same course to see how that time improves from last October. And hopefully, I'll have dropped a few more pounds and gotten even stronger by then!

However, I do plan to run the  Ten Penny Shamrock 3.3 miler again in 2015. Goal: sub-10-minute miles!