10km PR :)

After some strong and consistent training runs for Dopey (it's amazing how a good goal can motivate you), I found myself thinking about a 10km PR attempt. Where I live, official racing is not an option (8hr drive to the nearest town that would hold a race), so I thought, how about a fake 10km race? Obviously not an official PR, but a nice way to see how my running has come along since I started an official training program, and a program where I have not missed one session since I began.

I needed to beat 1:17:52, which I had run using 2:1 Galloway intervals. Since experimenting with a variety of different run:walk strategies, I have actually found 45sec:30sec to produce some of my speediest runs. I set out with my 45:30 intervals beeping away, and wanted to run a strong and safe 'race'. As I settled into a rhythm, I was feeling good, really good, so I ran the last 750m with no walk breaks. As I ticked over to 10km, I looked down to see a very happy sight. 1:14:23. I know this is no world record pace, but I have been trying to break 1:15:00 for a long time, and to achieve that in a non official 'race' was awesome.

Since beginning (and sticking with) my Dopey training, I have been slowly improving. As a non-runner for most of my life, it has been really satisfying to break out of the 'I can't run/I'm not a real runner' mentality and push myself. Even though I want to continue pushing myself, little achievements like this are what keeps me heading back out 4 times a week.

Without any official races, medals are off the table, but a well timed
online delivery makes for an excellent PR reward! 

My new goal is under 1:10!

When was your last PR?

Ash :)