How excited can you be to run 6k?
Published Wednesday, February 07, 2007 by Carolyne | E-mail this post
Answer: A Lot!
I was keen to run the BBQ Stakes today after such a miserable lack of running since Friday. The 2.2km Mt Ainslie Run-Up was also undertaken largely walking and I found it hard going.
Making it around the 6k was the sole priority, and I was able to complete this without undue difficulty. The seemingly perfect conditions for running at the start seemed a little hotter when underway, but were still pretty good. Being the first Wednesday of the month, it was run as a team event and in reverse direction. This usually seems harder, perhaps because one is used to going the other way. However I did keep reminding myself that once one was over the hills in this direction, at about the 4.5km mark, it was all downhill from there! I was willing those hills to pass, and dreamt of finally reaching the top of Waldock Street!
I was passed by a procession of just about every runner who started behind me, but did get better as the run progressed, didn't need to walk, and was free of the crippling gut pain. I felt as though I was flying (at between 5:15 and 5:30 pace) in the final mile and was disappointed to be considerably slower than last week, but was still faster than a fortnight ago.
Now, advice please:
Although I think that hills are the best way of improving strength and endurance, I am really struggling with them at the moment. Do you think that it is a good idea that I build up longer distances at the moment doing flatter, and hopefully faster, runs? I figure that my muscle memory is stuck on low gear, with a tendency to slip into reverse!
My name is Robert Key and I am a runner from Houston, Texas. I agree with you, 6K (or any distance) can be fun with the right attitude. Although I mainly run marathons, my favorite races have been 5K's with my kids over the years.
With respect to your blog, I have a web site at http://www.faithfulsoles.com that is inspirational stories for walkers, runners and athletes of all ages and abilities. I recently added to the site a categorized and searchable Running Blog Database where members of my site can find a blog of interest to them based on other walkers, runners or athletes of similar abilities, goals and interests. To my knowledge it is the only one of its kind specifically for walkers and runners on the internet. I would appreciate it if you would take a moment to put a link to your blog in our Running Blog Database (in the first week I had it online, I had over 60 bloggers from around the world link their blogs to it). Just click on "Link your running blog" under "Free Features" from the home page. If you want to learn more about my running background, just click on "Meet Robert" from the main menu , or to learn more about my involvement in the running community, click on "Faithful Soles in the news" in the left column under "Weekly Features". I also have a blog that I just started at http://faithfulsoles.blogspot.com, but most of my running information is on my web site. Also, if there is anyone else in your blogger network that you think would be interested in listing their blog, please feel free to pass this information along to them. Thanks and continued good luck in your training.