Monday, March 30, 2009

Season's First Goal Met!

Saturday was the Darden Cares 5k; my first actual race since Ironman Lake Placid. As I stated in an earlier post this season is all about having fun on race day by having stable blood sugars and achieving my performance goals. The knowledge I gained last year should aid in that greatly; plus I also have a better understanding of what I'm capable of.

At 9:20 am on Saturday I toed the line with my classmates, some dressed in speedos, some in figure skater outfits and even one dressed as a gorilla. My goal was to break 24 minutes; I have done 2 5k speed tests in the past, the first a year ago I completed in 25 minutes and the second about a month ago I finished in 24 minutes, 30 seconds. On Saturday I shattered my goal pace with a time of 23 minutes (or 22:58 on my watch) - a pace of 7 minutes, 11 seconds, good for 16th place!

My blood sugars remained above 200 throughout the race which was fine, a high in a 5k is way better than a low. But what was important was setting a realistic goal, exceeding those expectations and having a blast with my classmates doing it. The season is off to a great start - I can't wait for the Charlottesville Marathon!

4 comments:

Fun and Fearless in Beantown said...

Great job Ed! Glad to hear things are going well!

Kim said...

speedy gonzalez!! awesome work on the 5k - great PR! wonder what the outcome would have been if you shaved your entire body and wore a skinsuit.

Scott K. Johnson said...

Way to go!

jpnairn said...

Good job, and congrats on the PR.
A little bit high is always better than a low, but I'll bet your race would have gone even better with your blood sugar closer to normal.
And a 5K is so short, you really don't need to worry about a low unless you're starting low or you've got too much insulin on board.
That's just how I feel about these short races.
Anway, way to go!