Running of the Bulls 5K

3.1 miles, 32:42 = 10:33 min/mile pace
Avg heart rate = 186

Well I went running this morning for the first time in a month. I know -- how bad am I!?

I didn't know how well the race would go, because it's not like I haven't been active with soccer and softball and oh, riding my bike from here to Austin (!!), but at the same time, none of those things equal running. And while they keep me in shape, they don't keep me in running shape.

So I was pleasantly surprised to pull off a 10.5 min/mile pace this morning without much trouble, in fact, I felt pretty good. I ran side by side with Debbie, who was running for the first time in a while and always has major knee trouble slowing her down. If her knees were normal, she'd leave me in the dust, but as it is, they slow her down to my pace. ;) We started off at a comfortable jog, and I was a bit surprised to see us go through the first mile at 10:45 (surprised because I thought we were slower, not faster). We kept the same pace, hitting mile 2 in 21:35, and then we obviously sped up in the last 1.1 miles to finish in 32:42. I felt good the whole way, even with my own knee brace on to counter to overuse injury I've developed.

So it was a good, encouraging run. Gotta get back to doing it regularly, even with the heat and humidity on its way...