The Accidental 5K.

So I was back up on the treadmill after work on Saturday. I was a little tired from a busy day at work, but other than that I felt good. I still don't have the results from all my knee xrays and ultrasound so I'm trying not to push my luck, but I also have a 5K race coming up in 6 weeks...so it's tricky. I figure at least the treadmill is cushy and level so it's the best place to be right now. The plan was to run for time (30 minutes) rather than distance. I just thought, I'll try to run for 30 minutes straight again, and then I'll stop. I've done 30 minutes once before, so I really wanted to do it again. If my knee started to hurt, then I'd throw in the towel early.

So off I went. The first 4 minutes felt like I was just learning how to walk, let alone run. I think I was so scared of hurting my knee that I was really over-protecting it and I was running really weird and awkwardly. It was strange. But, then I got into a rhythm and things started moving along much better. Except, during about the first 10-15 minutes I'm always bargaining with myself, "Okay, just get to fifteen minutes, and then you can have a walk break". "Just try to get through one more song" (on my iPhone). That kind of thing. I watch the timer too much and it seems to move really slowly. Then I got to the 15 minute mark, and I realized I really didn't need a walk break. I was feeling great. So I continued on for the 30 minute goal.

{Insert note here: I need to tweak my iTunes Run Mix. Working = Gwen Stafani's "I'm Just a Girl". Not working = Whitney Houston's "It's Not Right, But It's Okay"}

I got to 30 minutes feeling pretty darn good.
I had reached 4.0 km's in that time!
But, a deal is a deal so I slowed the treadmill down to a walk. I was going to do a 5 minute walk cool-down. I got 3 minutes into my walk when I realized, My Nike+ System is Still Recording This! Argh! I don't want a walk added into my run time!! Argh!

So, in a panic, I cranked the speed back up and ran out the remainder of my first 5K.

I was done in 37 minutes and 23 seconds.

My first (accidental) 5K.

Despite it not being my plan, and despite the fact that I walked 3 whole minutes of it, I was still pretty darn excited.

There was much woo-hoo-ing going on.

All the little triumphs: it's one of the best parts of being a noobie runner.