I ran into a former neighbor in the grocery store the other day and we talked for quite a while. She had run the 10K before and shared with me a little bit about what she experienced. I think what she shared is a good explanation as to why so many joggers ended up walking. She had been jogging on a treadmill regularly when she signed up and she was sure she could run the full 10K. So she signed up as a jogger. She found out that pounding the pavement for 6 miles is not the same as working out on a treadmill or elliptical for a mile or two each day. She couldn't run it all and she said she ached at every joint for a week. I imagine that is what happens with a lot of these wannabe 10K joggers. If they don't really go out and jog the streets they are likely not as prepared as they think they are. An April race is not long after the winter. I wasn't seeing too many joggers on the streets as I walked the neighborhood all winter long. Next year I'll sign up for an earlier wave. A lesson learned.


That is what I want to believe. But who knows? Had they not kept me reigned in for the first few miles I might have started too fast and fizzled. It is what it is and I'll take what I got. 70 minutes is 15 minutes faster than I did the baseline 10K 4 weeks ago when I first started training. Not a bad improvement in just 4 weeks.