5k from Saturday

Hey peeps. Just a quickie to update. I ran a 5k this weekend. It's called the Harbor Hustle 5k. From the Tennis Center in Rock creek park, down 45 meters in elevation to Beach Dr., then back up. A toughie, no doubt. I came in 5th, which sounds good until you consider a few things: a) there were only 175 finishers, b) last year I came in 3rd, and c) I ran 30 seconds slower than last year at 19:06. I was very disappointed at first. But then I plugged that number into the race equivalent calculator (these things are remarkably accurate) and it came up with a Marathon equiv of 3:06. Now, I surely would not be confident running the marathon right now and hoping for a 3:06. But if you consider that a) I have 17 full weeks of training until my real marathon, and (more importantly) b) I have done exactly ZERO speed or hill workouts at all, then the picture becomes a little more positive. So, to recap, I am not ready to either run a fast 5k OR run my goal marathon, but the race was a very positive indication that I have good fitness and that I am ready to begin speedwork and hill training so that I will be ready to run my goal marathon in 17 weeks. Check out the Garmin output from the race.