Anyway, this time around will be a little different. For the first time in 4 years , I wont be doing the half marathon at the SFM. In fact I wasn’t planning on doing any of the SFM events this year, because I wanted to save myself for the ET marathon on Aug 16th. Well, after a lot of coaxing, a friend talked me into doing the 5K. Actually, it’s a separate 5k race that they call the “progressive marathon”.
I think the progressive marathon is an event that is exclusive to the San Francisco marathon. The way it works, is that you’re put on the honor system for completing the first 23 miles of the marathon on your own prior to the race, and then you do the last 3 miles on marathon day. Hmmm …I wonder how many people actually do the first 23 miles . I think it’s basically a marketing ploy to reel in those people who wish they could complete a full marathon, but cant . Anyways, accumulating the first 23 miles was no biggy for me…Heck, I walked that much last week alone.
I’ve never done a 5 k race , because for some reason , I associate them with speed. It’s such a short distance that I think most people are compelled to do it as fast as they can ( not surprising since it is a race.) There are many runners and even racewalkers in my age group that can finish a 5K race in 25 minutes or less. Unfortunately, I’m not one of them. I ‘m stuck at one speed….SLOW! I’ll be extremely happy if I can finish in under 48 minutes. I have no experiencing in pacing such a short distance and I don’t have the lungs to just go all out, so I’m just going to walk at a moderate pace. No running , no jogging…just plain old walking and maybe some racewalking if I’m breathing OK.
It’s weird , because on the one hand, I’m intimidated by the runners who do short fast races, but on the other hand, I don’t know if I’ll find a 5K challenging enough…. at least not from an endurance standpoint. I kid you not, it takes me at least 5 to 7k just to warm my legs up. Anything under 2 hours on a course is barely a work out for me, especially if I’m breathing well. My biggest fear is that I’ll push myself to hard and burn my lungs out after the first mile.
Oh well, I guess its the whole marathon experience and the chance to share it with good friends that matters most for me. After all, this is San Francisco , this is where I live, this is where I love to walk , and this is where I finished my very first race. Love or dread the event…..I gotta do it because San Francisco is hosting.
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Fun to read your take on a 5K – yeah, since your lungs won’t let you go fast, I guess it does seem like a funny thing for you to only go 3 miles :).
25 minutes, racewalking? Ummm, yeah, if you’re really fast! Not me!!! For Dave McG that is slow, but for me, well, if I can do under 28 min in Spokane I’ll be ecstatic; more realistic will be 28:30 if i have a good day.
5k’s are a different monster than longer runs. For me, I usually hit my respiratory limit while doing them and i don’t like the feeling.
If you take it easy, I’m sure you’ll do great. Have a great time!