Zen Labs C25K Couch to 5K Final Exam

It's been two weeks since my last run. It's been driving me nuts that I never attempted to actually run 5k after finishing up C25K. I was full of excuses. During the week, it's just too hard since there's not enough time to walk to the track, run the 5k and walk back. I could run on the street, but I need to find a flat enough spot for that and the road is just killer on my shins. Last Saturday I had to do a mystery shop early in the morning and I wanted to be able to sleep in. I decided that I was going to take a rest day from Rockin' Body today so I could let the calendar reset so Monday was Monday. I had a mystery shop early in the morning again though! I wasn't going to let that stop me from my run though! I woke up at 5:00 and went for my run! 

I geared up and headed outside to discover that it was light out! I run under the cover of darkness! I feel safe in the dark. No one can see me run in the dark! I almost turned around, but I kept going! I made it to the track and the front gate was still locked. UGH! At least they cleaned the portapotties so they smelled like cleaning agents instead of other things. They also created a couple parking spots back there. I'm wondering if I could get away with parking there in the morning. I hesitate to do that though since there's a house right there and I wouldn't want to freak them out at 4:00 AM.

So the first lap was kind of hard for me. I was trying to keep myself in the 16ish minute mile pace because I was adding an extra mile to my run. My previous runs had maxed at 2 miles, but I needed 3.1 for the 5k. The second lap didn't get any better and then my worst nightmare happened! People showed up! There were a couple guys and a couple kids. They sat down on the bleachers. I almost stopped running and bailed, but I kept at it! When I got near the bleachers they nodded and said good morning. I didn't get any funny looks. It didn't look like anyone was pointing at the fat girl running around the track.  Then MORE PEOPLE came! They pulled a truck out onto the track and started unloading exercise equipment. There were boxes for box jumps, rowing machines and a bunch of barbells with huge weight plates. I had to run through this group of people. I really wanted to give up, by then, I was like halfway done and there was no way I could give up. It was sooooo hard though. I managed to do a full three miles. I looked at my watch wrong though. I thought it said 3.2 miles, but it said 3.03. I didn't actually complete my 5k! I was crushed, but like hubby pointed out, that .07 really isn't that much, so he's sure I can handle a full 5k even though I didn't actually complete one. I did a little sprint for the last little bit of the last lap, so if I was able to spring at the end, I know I had enough juice left in me to finish a 5k. I'm still bummed though and want to try it again! I have to wait until next Saturday though. I just hope that this run doesn't make it really hard on me tomorrow for the hike. I don't feel all weak in my legs, but it's the furthest I've ever run. I hope my shins don't hurt tomorrow! Hubby's worried about that. It is what it is. We'll see what happens tomorrow. 

Polar M400

Here are the screen shots for the run! I'm not really sure what was gong on with the heart rate monitor for the end of the workout. That's some funky stuff on there. Oh well. I got a nice calorie burn so I'm happy. I improved my best average pace, but it's not really legit since I didn't start the thing until I started the run. Normally, I start it right after I leave the house, but I wanted to be able to see the stats for just the run. It will be a long time before I'll be able to improve that average pace unless I do the same thing and start it when I get to the track.