Garmin - Best Friend / Worst Friend

This pic was taken on the way to the LA Catfish Festival 5k (3.1 miles) in Des Allemandes, LA. This is a pic of a South LA sugar cane field. Just 1 minute before this pic, the sun was a beautiful reddish orange. Sorry - by the time I pulled over it had already changed.

Nothing really out of the ordinary today about the 5k, except that it has been a little while since I have run one. (trying to focus on the marathon - it's hard to do that - the variety of racing keeps me entertained). Warmed up 1.5 miles, ran some strides, and then we are off and running. I hoped to run 7:40 pace (typically my "hopes" are always a little faster than what I end up running, but it gives me something to work toward). Today was my 4th time to run this race. The last time was in 2007 and I ran 24:12 which, at the time was a new PR for me. I remember being very excited to have run so well, especially in July. At the time, it proved to me my training was going well and paying off. Fast forward to 2009. Finish the race and they call out 23:31, very excited, I haven't been doing 5k speed work, wow. Very next thing - look at my Garmin to see if I have the same time. I have 23:32 - GREAT. Next thing - look at distance 3.01 - DANG! (this all happens within 10-20 seconds of completing the race). So my adjusted time for a 5k would be around 24:11, I guess. (mile 1 - 7:41 yay, mile 2 - 7:45 not bad big bridge, 3 - 7:59 - dang, .01 - :06)

So I am thinking back to 2007, I had just looked up my 2007 on Friday to see what I was in for and what I needed to do. You always want to do a little better than last time (it is a sickness for sure). As I am driving back I am thinking I didn't see any notation of a short course, unless I overlooked it in my notes. What happened? I always note short courses - what I ran, the incorrect distance, and a guess of what my 5k time would have been. So after a quick trip to Wally World (need to pick up some Blue Bell for my sweety, etc), I make it home and look back and realize that I didn't get my Garmin until August of 2007. So the 3 other years I never knew the course was short and in 2007 thoroughly enjoyed my PR.

Garmin - can't run without it, love all the data, love to run on pace, love the heart rate monitor, etc. - Best Friend.
Garmin - today for a moment in time, I was thrilled to have ran a time of 23:32 for the 2009 Catfish 5k (3.1 miles), no this year the Garmin tells me that I have only run 3.01 miles. Worst Friend.

Reality is a real downer. Today, if I had not run with the Garmin, I would have left that race with the best of attitudes toward my training. I would have been saying to myself "my training is REALLY paying off. I ran 23:32 and I haven't been doing speed work for the 5k." It would have really pumped me up to continue with my marathon training knowing that I am running strong.

I did run with that Garmin and I know that I really ran around 24:15 today for a true 5k. At first, I am bummed. So typical! This is what I do after a race. First, (unless it's a pr) I am bummed - why this, why that, etc. Then as I think about it more and more, I start looking at the positives. So here we go - today my adjusted time was around 24:11. Now I know that I need to go back and adjust my 2007 (39 years) time and the adjusted time would be around 24:51. So today, this 41 year old, ran a better time than 2 years ago with few 5ks and practically no 5k training (other than mile repeats and hill repeats - which are good for 5ks, but for me to get faster in the 5k, I need the 200s & 400s). Maybe I'm not over the hill after all. Also, 24:15, for a July 5k is not too bad (at start time it was around 75 degrees with heat index of 89). Would I like to be faster, of course, but I will take it. It could be a LOT worse. I won the Ladies Master's Award. (it was a small race, but I'll take it) (also won a door prize, an XL COKE tee - another sleep shirt - cool). It was hard to get out of bed a 5:00 am to be there for the 7:30 start, but it's always so worth it later in the day. Fun!

After the race I jogged another 2.5 miles to get me to 7 miles for the morning. I still need 3 more to get me to my planned 38 for this week. So this evening, like last week, I will opt to run a "2 a day" and get those other 3 miles this evening while Chad and Scott run so that I can have Sunday off from running.

Next week will begin week 4 of my St. George Training. It will be a "step back" week for me. The first 3 weeks went like this - 29, 34, and 38 miles. Next week, I will run around 25 miles. Monday will be hill repeats, but scaled back a little 5 miles total, Thurs. will be my long and this week is 14 so that will be the bulk of the mileage for the week, and next Sunday (July 19th) will be a tempo run - 4 tempo miles and 6 miles total. With the reduced mileage I will not have any easy running days (some call it "junk miles"). The other days will be either walking or biking.

Garmin you are still rated as Best Friend - even though you frequently bust my bubble, overall, you get a "big thumbs up." You and I have many more miles and memories to go - I hope.