Today was my first ever 5k race. It’s quite a big deal to me, because running is not anything I’ve ever done (without a damned good reason, and even then for short distances only) until about 3 months ago, when I began the C25K program. Week 1 of the program consists of walking for 60 seconds followed by running for 90 seconds, repeated for a total of 20 minutes. I did it on a treadmill, and my speed was set to 2.5 MPH for the walking and 3.5 MPH for the running. It was hard as hell, and I was very proud that I actually was able to complete the 20 minutes at all.
By the end of the (nominally 8-week) program (that took me a little over 9 weeks to finish), I was running at 5 MPH and walking (on the days that even involved walking at all) at 3.5 MPH. Today I ran 5k in 29:43 which is about 6.29 MPH. Better yet is when I looked at my stats per kilometer (courtesy of Zombies, Run!) and saw that I ran each of the 5 kilometers faster than the one before it. And instead of being dead tired at the end, I felt good!
Had you told me a year ago that I would run that far and enjoy it, I would have thought you insane. Pardon me now while I go question my own sanity.
