31:32 (or, Slow and Steady)

As I laced up my shoes this morning for the CASA 5K, I realized something. I have a race scheduled for every weekend this month.

I had the CASA 5K today, followed by the Wind and Water Open next weekend. The Wind and Water Open is the "official warm-up run" to the Beach to Bay relay Marathon the weekend after, where I'll be running the third leg (about 4.3 miles) on a six-person team. I'll cap off the month with the American Heroes 5K run on Memorial Day in Arlington, Texas. I actually planned my week-long vacation around that last race.

Who is this person? Certainly not me.

Today's race was a milestone. I ran the entire distance without walking. That's huge. I think the changes to my running routine are paying off. I can run 3.5 miles without walking at a 9.5 minute-mile pace on the treadmill, but that doesn't translate to the streets. I've been starting off too fast in my outdoor races, making my pace sporadic and forcing me to walk and catch my breath.

Over the last month I've consciously been trying to slow my running down. I've left the treadmill behind, and I've focused less on time and more on a steady, comfortable pace.

Something else happened today too. I'm not sure how too describe it. For the first mile or so, things were not so bad. I don't want to say fun, because running is so not fun, right? It was an odd feeling. I think I'll attribute it to the new music I tried out on my run today. My favorite of the bunch is this quasi marching-band style remix of Feist's "I Feel It All." It's fantastic.



OFFICIAL CASA 5K RESULTS:
Chip Time: 31 mins, 32.9 secs
Overall Position: 157th
Male Finishers: 87th
Age Group(25-29): 5th
Pace: 10.09