3k? Should be entertaining!

I think ahead to Saturday, and all I can do is smile and shake my head :). Ha! I’m looking forward to seeing where I’m at, but know I’m completely unprepared for something this fast/short (it was really fast for me in college, when I was a 5k/10ker!) & will have some really fast competition from the U of MN’s women’s team. As I was lying in bed last night thinking ahead to the race, trying to picture myself racing, and the only image I had was of me running in slow motion, trying to keep up with heavy legs. Hmmm, need to work on that mental image 🙂

I don’t have a hard and fast goal, but would like to be as close to 10:40 as I could. That isn’t blazing fast, but would be a respectable time to build off of.

As a reference, at MIACs in college, I ran 10:30 (freshman), 10:29 (sophomore), 10:43 (junior, after struggling with a mess of injuries all indoor season), 10:52 (senior, first race back after injury). My personal best 3k is a 10:12, run outdoor my senior year. Without having run any sort of short reps lately (usually only 1200s/1600s and tempos), I think I’d be pretty happy with a 10:40.

And, just so I have some idea of pacing, that would be: 640 total seconds, which is 42 2/3 seconds/lap assuming a 200 meter track. I have no idea what a 42 second 200 feels like (other than “fast”! :).

Should be an adventure! Now, I should probably do a few shorter reps and/or striders this week, just to remind my legs how to move fast :).

P.S. I’ve been having a little bit of hip/SI discomfort lately. I think it’s due to all of the uneven footing on MN’s snowy roads. It seems that once the roads are somewhat clear, we get another 2+ inches of snow, and then you’re fighting the slop again. Jim (aka miracle worker) is on top of it. Glad I’m completely aware of my body now & can jump on things right away.