A Sub-40 5K, Yay!

Ever since I completed my Couch to 5K program last year--and then ran a solo 5K on my birthday--I've continued running. Well, jogging. Slowly. 

I didn't worry much about my pace, instead just running for thirty minutes every other day. Because I run so slowly, this meant three laps around the interior of my ghost village, so about two miles.

That is a very slow mile pace.

I kind of knew I was just coasting and could certainly be running more, or faster. I wasn't really trying very hard anymore, although I do give myself credit for consistency, I guess.

I decided just a bit ago that I could at least start going around four times, instead of three. So I did that for a couple of weeks, although I didn't increase my pace at all.

And then, when the family was all gone in Tucson a couple of weeks ago, I was in the middle of my four laps when I decided I should really just do all five laps that would constitute a 5K, to see if I could do it faster than my very slow time last year of 43 minutes. 

I had read online that typical "novice" times for a 5K are between 30 minutes and 40 minutes. When I did that spontaneous 5K two weeks ago, I did it in 40 minutes and 9 seconds.

So close!

Last Saturday, I decided to see if I could do my usual four laps in 30 minutes, because I knew that then I really could do the whole five kilometers in less than forty minutes.

I suppose it's not surprising that when I got done with my fourth lap in well under 30 minutes, it seemed pretty dumb to not just do the fifth and final lap to see what my actual time would be.

It was 36 minutes and 38 seconds. 

Sub-40 shoes.

I wasn't even that worn out. I mean, yes, I was tired by the end and had to work a little harder to keep my pace up, but I never got even close to the burning-lungs, feeling-like-throwing-up stage so familiar to me from my younger athletic days. I have no interest in feeling like that anymore.

But even without pushing myself to collapse--or even getting a stitch in my side--I got way under my goal of 40 minutes. 

I could preach some life lessons here about perseverance and so on, but I think I'll just leave it here: I ran a 5K in under 37 minutes, and I am proud of myself.

Snapshots: Harvests

We actually got a decent amount of rhubarb this year.

This harvest of it all went in the freezer, as did the peaches given to us by a neighbor.

A bold table arrangement that does not include any sunflowers.

The first yellow leaves are appearing on the apricot tree by our front door.

A. scythed down the overgrown sunflower patch outside our gate that was encroaching into the road before they could dry and get too hard to cut. Kind of sad, but it was time, and there are plenty more elsewhere.

And last, I took Poppy to her friend's birthday party that had a puppy theme, since they just got a new puppy. Look how cute the marshmallow-paw-print cupcakes were. The "kibble" in the middle was peanut butter cocoa puffs or something on top of a chocolate cake. Clever.

There you have it! My life, snapshotted.