NC Fat Ass 50k and Accountability Update

Not really too much to write about the NC Fat Ass – other than to say , that just like any and all of the Mangum Track Club races I have done, it was a great run, and as always, I got to hang out with friends

I was planning on running with Wilbur and Sarah, and figured 20 miles would be enough for them. But the weather was so wonderful, the trail so perfect for running on (for both me and the pups), that we figured we would get ourselves a marathon. Actually an ultra – we went an additional 1/2 mile on the out and back course so that we got a total of 27 + miles. It was a very good tired that we all had afterwards.

Accountability update

Now then – here is the up-to-date status page: 5k challenge

January is done and I managed to get a 5k in per week that followed the rules. The two runs I did outside, both needed the “minute of grace” that I allowed myself in January. In my defense for both of those outside runs, it wasn’t ideal. The first one, along the Columbia river trail in Washington, even though it was flat, but it was windy. The other “outside run” was the first 3.1 miles of my normal lunchtime Umstead 4 mile out and back run, which is not flat. Also in both cases, it was only after a fairly fast first mile, that I decided I was going to make the run part of my challenge. (Maybe that helped me though, by allowing me to ease into a fast run. Dunno.)

One thing though, last week during my lunch time runs on two occasions, I actually got two PR’s – so does this mean I am getting faster? Does this mean that the 5k challenge is actually working? Maybe. I’m hoping though that February will see me slowly start to improve both the treadmill 5k time and the outdoor 5k time. I think though, I am going to have to adjust my target for the outdoor 5k’s – 24 minutes maybe a bit much for now – I knew it would be in January – hence the 60 seconds of grace I allowed myself. So being as this is my challenge, and I get to set the rules, I am allowing 45 seconds of grace throughout February – outdoor 5ks only.