Thursday, May 9, 2013

Back in the Groove - On Broad Street

Last Sunday, I ran the 34th Annual Broad Street Run (10-Miler) through the various neighborhoods of Philadelphia.  This was my 5th time to run the 'Broad Street Run' and the longest distance I've run since the Marine Corps Marathon in October, 2012.  After tearing the meniscus in my right knee in December, followed by arthroscopic surgery, I've been slowly getting my groove back and doing my darnedest to stay injury free.  Going into the race, I kept mentally telling myself that I wasn't going to challenge myself to PR but 'just have fun'.  When I reviewed my results for the past 2 previous years on Broad Street, I set a very high level objective to finish this 10-miler in 1:30; that would be a 9:00 pace.  (In 2011, I finished in 1:35 and in 2012, I finished in 1:25).  And, BINGO - according to my Garmin, I finished in 1:30:31!

If anything, I have proven to myself, once again, that I am resilient.  Although I haven't felt the same passion about running these past several months, I've still been determined to stay active with cross-training and strength training.  I've been 'mixing it up' a bit with my workouts but I've been consistent about getting to the gym at least 5 days each week.  And, I'm not just showing up at the gym - I'm making the effort and trying to make sure I have fun and feel good about the effort I am expending.

So, I am feeling as if I am 'back in the groove' again.  I finished this 10-miler in a respectable time and at a pace that I am happy with.  And, recognizing that my pace improved over the course of the run (negative splits baby!), I am feeling very good about that.

My plan right now is to focus on a solid recovery from this race.  No running for me this week - I am sticking to cross training and stretching.  My training program for the Chicago Marathon is scheduled to start the week of June 24 so I don't want to risk any injuries!

Happy Running Folks!
John

No comments:

Post a Comment