#193 - I run 5 miles - July 12, 2013

Cool thing from the last 24: I ran 5 mile straight for the first time in my life.

I'm gearing up for the 3.5 mile mud run in a few weeks, and my training thought has been that if I can run further than the course, then she shorter run with obstacles will be more enjoyable.  So I've been consistently extending my runs (4 miles on Monday), keeping the incline high on the treadmill to make them more difficult, and trying to beat my old times.  Today I went for the whole canoodle, shebang, whatever you call it: I set the treadmill on the 5 mile course and let it fly.  The machine said it was nearly a 52-minute course.

I mostly left the incline alone (it goes from 0.5% to 4%), but kept the speed consistently higher.  My initial goal was to do 5 10-minute miles.  By midway, I wanted to be 1 minute total under that mark.  Once I achieved that at the 2.5-mile mark, I wanted to shave another minute off by the 4-mile mark.  I got that as well.  Then I wanted to shave 1 more minute off by the 5-mile mark.  As the last minute started, I realilzed I wasn't going to make it.  So I upped the speed to 7 mph.  A quick evaluation told me that I was still borderline, so I upped it to 8 mph for the last little bit, and came in just under 47 minutes.

This whole running thing is growing on me.  It's much more intense than biking, so I need a shorter workout for the same "holy cow I'm tired and that was awesome" feeling.  It also does work your core, since you have to stand up.  My back is stronger, and all my upper body muscles seem to be a little tighter, and little better fit together than before.  Like when you build a Lego spaceship and you play with it and the pieces fit, but they're loose.  And then you tighten it up and it's no longer as delicate as it once was.

The big customer meeting went well, and now I just have to figure out what I'm doing for the campout tomorrow.  I think I'll have 4 men and 6 boys to feed for 2 meals.  How can I make this work?