Couch to 8k

Last year I signed up for the F5 St. Pat's Dash 5k and the Beat the Bridge 8k. I ended up deciding not to run the 5k (the morning of...) because it was raining. And I am lazy. I ran the 8k without any training and successfully beat the bridge, but just by less than a minute and was hurting for a few days after.

THIS YEAR WILL BE DIFFERENT!

Sarah and Matt have signed up for the St. Pat's Dash, so I won't be able to bail last minute this year. HAHA. Accountability! And I'm signing up for the timed group, so I've already started training in hopes of not embarrassing myself. Additionally, I want to do well at Beat the Bridge. And even though I'm sure I can beat the bridge, I want to beat last year's time (1:01:56 Time and 12:28 Pace)!

I got fitted for proper running shoes today. Turns out I'm a slight overpronator and the Brooks Defyance 8 shoes were the best/most comfy for me. I'm so glad that I went to seek advice! I also now know that my previous pair of running shoes was too tight. I didn't have the toe space that I have now... and it makes a world of difference.

Here's the game plan for the training:

I'm intentionally easing into running because I don't want to hurt myself. I only just broke in my new shoes today on the treadmill, but I felt great during the run and I was able to jog longer than ever before without stopping. 15 minutes with no break!