26.2 Doesn't Even Begin To Cover It...: Little Rock 5k... CHECK!

While my lovely little Saturday morning jog wasn't exactly as speedy as I would have liked (40:33), it was by far my best run. While I would love to share every little step along the way, I shall (in the fashion of my last 5k recap) provide my highlights in the ever-fabulous bulleted list.

I ran every single inch. Yeah, I don't think this needs much elaboration. The excitement of this went away, though, when I realized that my run-walk-run (thanks, Jeff Galloway!!) ratio was gonna include about three miles of running to about a quarter- to a half-mile of walking. And it's gonna happen about four cycles worth for the half. Whoop. Whoop.

Those damn hills didn't stop me!! While Conway is a quaint little town with many positive attributes, it's probably the worst place in Arkansas for running. You get handy little downtown, with all its stoplights and crosswalk zones where you get interrupted/try to save yourself from psycho drivers who can't seem to pay attention to anything other than themselves/their phones/their kids; then you factor in the complete absence of sidewalks; and, oh yeah, the fact that there is no elevation change whatsoever. So when I realized that there were hills-a-plenty (which happened as I was running up the damn hills), I was a little freaked, but they didn't stop me!! They've definitely made me move slower since Saturday, though, because apparently butt muscles are activated 100000x more running uphill than on level ground. They've been protesting.

I maintained a steady pace throughout, hills and all. All three miles were run at a fairly steady pace, which is currently unknown thanks to a discrepancy in my Nike+ and official time/distance/pace. I do know, however, that my fastest mile (by about ten seconds) was pretty much straight uphill. Maybe I just really wanted to get it over with?? I'll know a better guesstimate of my actual pace soon, because I'm getting a handy running waist-pack (AKA fanny pack), and I'll be able to loop my big Forerunner on that, instead of my wrist.

I'm really proud of this run, and I'm so looking forward to exiting the "fun run" category and entering the longer runs. My ever-eloquent dad said "you have to walk before you can run.... or run before you can run? Whatever, I'm proud of you." I even got him to commit to running the Disney World 5k the Friday before the marathon! Oh, and Sara Ann and I are submitting our Odyssey Funding Proposal soon... Wish us luck!!!