My First 5k Run

Last week I was suckered into signing up to run in the Rise & Shine 5k Run/Walk by a pretty woman, my girlfriend. It will be my first ever 5k to participate in. For those who don't know a 5k is about 3.1 miles (I had to look that up). The purpose of the run is to raise money for The Rise School of Dallas. The Rise program focuses on the needs of toddlers and preschoolers who have developmental disabilities. You can find out more about the program and how it got started by clicking here.

When the proposition to run a 5k first was given to me I wasn't all that excited, but I was willing to suck-it-up to keep from making a withdrawal from Claudia's emotional bank account. After reading what the event was for I felt better about my commitment to run 3 miles. I was raised around children with disabilities, I have a severely retarded cousin and a former step-brother with Down syndrome, and they have a special place in my heart. Beyond believing in the cause I knew it wouldn't hurt me to be able to run 3 miles. I've slacked off of my workouts over the past five months and have gained about 10 pounds. Loosing some of those 10 pounds would be nice. Now I know I can't loose 10 pounds by running 3 miles, but in the four weeks I have to train for the run I plan on running between 25 and 30 miles.

My goal is to run the 3.1 miles in 25 minutes. Currently it is hard for me to run one mile in 8 minutes. So for me to run three with an average of just over 8 minutes per mile will take some work. I found a training program online that is suppose to help me get there in 6 weeks. The only problem with the program is that I only have 4 weeks to train. I modified it to fit my 4 weekend deadline and I hope it works.