March through March

After running in November and December, then the Bop to the Top in January, I had an idea.  N and I had already talked about a run at the end of February, and I knew the inaugural Anywhere 5K was approaching at the beginning of March.  After a little research, and having the running bug coming out of winter, I decided to "March through March."  I planned to run an organized run every weekend in the month of March. Primary goal: Improve. Ultimate goal: RUN.

And so, at the end of February, I began my quest…

February - Week 0

First was the Polar Bear 5 Mile run.  My first five-miler, and at a balmy 20 degrees in downtown Indy. At least I had learned not to wear 4 layers (Jingle Bell).  I did rock the running tights for the first time.  They’d be more fashionable if they were made for a 6’ 4” runner.  Getting a stretch in afterward…

Result:  45:19 total; 9:04/M  A solid performance, considering the extra distance.

March - Week 1

Next up was the Inaugural Anywhere 5K run.  Check out their page, buy a shirt or three, and start signing up for these things.  They’re FREE!!

Result:  26:25 total; 8:41/M  Fortunately for me, I use the “Runtastic” app on my Galaxy S to track my runs, so there was no way I could fib about the result.  If you check my tweets just after that, you’ll see a couple more miles logged.  I had mapped a new route around home to run, but made on wrong turn on the way out.  Add another wrong turn heading back, and you go a couple more miles.

March - Week 2

 

To open the week for the Big 10 Conference Basketball Tournament there is an annual Big 10 Hoops Day 5K run.  I happen to be pretty close to a Purdue grad, so I put on my big cotton Boilermaker t-shirt, over the gigantic long sleeve dri-fit tee provided for the race, and set out through the streets of downtown Indy once again.

Result:  25:32 total; 8:31/M  It must have been the big parachute of a shirt that slowed me down.  I didn’t win anything based on my time, but at least a couple of friends and I were able to photo bomb the trophy.

March - Week 3

 

Of course, St. Patty’s day brings all kinds of events, one of which is the Shamrock 4 Mile run/walk.  No photos from this one.  The finish was deceptive. As we were routed back into the Monument Circle downtown, we expected to be done as we rounded the corner to head south.  Nope.  The sprint to the finish was premature.  We had to make it three quarters of the way around the circle to finish, which doesn’t sound so bad, unless you have already run 4 miles.  That’s no small circle!

Result:  35:06; 08:46/M  Acceptable given the extra distance, I suppose.

March - Week 4

 

I’ve run trails with N before, and I’ve hiked/jogged some with y2kemo in NC, so the Holliday Park 5 Mile Trail run seemed like a great fit for this month.  What I have not done, and certainly not competitively, is stomp across plastic floating bridges due to flooding creeks and slide down muddy, slimy wooden bridges from the rains the night before. It was a lot more than I had experience before, but still as fun as could be.  No photos of me this time either.  Probably best, though I didn’t get the dirty arse that a lot of other runners came out of there sporting.

Result: 54:42; 10:56/M  I’ll take that for my first extremely muddy trail run!

March - Week 5

Last but not least, on the last day of March, and in anticipation of Easter, was the Bunny Rock 5K run.  I say “not least”, but that’s not entirely true.  For a 5k in downtown Indy, since this was a new race, there were very few people registered for it.  Perhaps I should lead with “I finished 6th in my age group and 44th overall”?  It was true, but the race clearly did not bring out a huge crowd.  Fewer than 500 in all, but we did all get rockin’ sunglasses and bunny ears to run in. You’ll notice in photos that the ears are bent back so I could be more aerodynamic.  Did it work?

Result:  25:30; 8:14/M  Best recorded time EVAH by this guy.

There are some in-race photos from this one.  This was not too far in.  Note the crowd way behind me, and JG’s arm next to me…

This one was near the finish.  I had trouble passing that pair behind me.  They threw up some hellish elbow blocks. (not really) 

Mission accomplished!  I ran a race every weekend and improved along the way.  Since then, I’ve run one organized race that I’ll tell about later and I’m registered for my first 10k.  We’ll see how the extra distance treats me.