Endurance? How The Heck Did THAT Happen?

Since the 10k I am committed to doing is inching ever closer, I decided that I should start pushing my walks further and faster than I've been doing over the course of the summer.  I figure one of two things will happen; either I'll be really prepared for the Great Columbia Crossing October 3rd, or I'll be estimate just how far I'll make it before the big yellow "Get-Your-Ass-Off-The-Bridge" bus comes to collect me.

If this morning's walk is any indication... not only will I be able to finish the walk without being picked up by the bus, but I should also be able to thoroughly destroy my last 10k finish time of 2 hours 4 minutes.

This morning I woke up bright eyed and bushy tailed to hit the track.  I decided to time myself walking 4 miles, roughly 2/3 of the 10k distance I'll be walking in just two short weeks.  For some reason about a half mile in both my legs started aching (probably residual soreness from Curves yesterday) and I began to second guess myself.  I started to think that maybe I wasn't in as good of shape as I thought I was... and maybe my third 10k would be my undoing.

Luckily, I pushed through the doubt and worked out the stiff pain in my left calf and right ankle because before I knew it I had hit a rhythm and was truckin' through each quarter mile with more ease than the one before.  From lap 6 onward, I was even able to jog down the backstretch of each lap!  2 miles in I really felt great and knew that I could do 4 miles, and although it wouldn't be easy it also wasn't going to kill me.

I finished the last lap of my 4th mile with a mixture of feelings of accomplishment and nervousness.  I just hoped that I had finished in a quick enough time that adding two more miles to the circuit on the 3rd wouldn't put me over the allotted finish time.  With one eye closed and the other eye cautiously peering through closed fingers I looked at the clock.  1 hour 12 minutes!

Although due to the added distance I wasn't able to maintain the 16 minute miles I did earlier this week, I still averaged about 18 minutes which is a winning number as far as the 10k is concerned.  To finish a 10k (approximately 6.5 miles) within the recommended time of 2 hours, a person needs to average 18 minutes 28 seconds per mile or better.  Although it'll be a close race for me I should be finishing right on time!

If you're interested in joining me for the Great Columbia Crossing, check out their event site: http://www.greatcolumbiacrossing.com/