I'm catching Ammon up in it too

You know that running thing I've been doing on and off for the last year and a half or so?  I'm starting to think that I actually kind of like it.  Trust me, I'm as shocked about it as anyone.  For my entire life, running has been little more than an annoyance, something to be suffered through.  I started running in order to prove to myself that I can do hard things, and persevere in the face of challenge.  I wanted to say that I, a non-runner, could do a half marathon.

I did a half marathon.  And then I signed up for another one.  A redemption half, because I wasn't happy with the outcome of the first one.  I'm told this is the way it starts, and suddenly one day, you find yourself running for "the sheer joy" of running, whatever in the world that means.  To me, it just sounds like a sick, sick addiction.  Always pushing for the next race, a better time, a longer run.  And I, in all of my cruelty, have caught Ammon in the same web now.  On Saturday, we ran a 5k together, the first time we've done a running event together.

We've been running together at the track about once a week for a month or so now.  It's a nice way for us to spend time together and get a workout in.  Plus, we get to take Gunner with us, which is extra awesome.  However, Ammon has never participated in any of my runs, except to maybe come cheer me on at the finish line.  I was so excited that he finally agreed to undertake this with me, but also a little nervous... Ammon is really fast over a sprint, and I figured if he could pace himself appropriately, he could very well beat me across the finish line.  The competitor in me really could not stomach the idea of this.  Not only that, but I had a goal.  I wanted to finish my 5k in under 34 minutes, because according to all of the fancy schmancy pace calculators, that means I should be able to run 13.1 miles in 2:40:00.

One thing I really liked about this 5k was that they attempted to line people up based on mile paces, so that there wasn't an intense log jam at the start.  It never, ever, ever works, but I appreciated their efforts.  We lined up at the back of the 9-10 minute mile pace section... a little faster than my goal time.  I did that, because on Friday, Gunner and I had our fastest run ever, 2.07 miles in 20 minutes.  I felt like it was absolutely possible that I could run close to a 10 minute mile over 3.1 miles after that.  So we lined up and took off.  Ammon stayed with me for the first half mile or so, before I ended up alone and in front of him.  I didn't see him again for the rest of the run.  It was okay though; the run was crowded, and I spent a good part of it making sure I wasn't run over, or running anyone else over.  For as many people as were participating, the course was very narrow, which was tricky.

I was thrilled when I got to the 3 mile mark and realized that I was not only going to beat my goal, but I was going to hit a 5k PR... my previous PR was 32:32 at the Colorado Marathon.  On Saturday, I stopped the clock at 32:17!  Given my much more laid back approach to training and running these days, I was pretty proud to have beaten my previous time.

The words "fastest 5k" might be my absolute favorite right now.  Awesome.

Even more awesome?  When I plug that time into a pace calculator, and it tells me that I am projected to run my half in 2:29:28.  Holy cow, that seems incredibly fast right now.  It also tells me what my ideal training paces should be.  They're pretty close to my current paces, but I could certainly work towards improving them.

Ammon came across the finish line a little less than thrilled with his time.  He's now on a mission to beat it when he runs his next 5k on November 23, the same day I run my next half marathon.  We're both going to crush our previous times.  We're both going to feel like rockstars.  We're both going to smell absolutely disgusting.  It's going to be epic.