5k: Run for the Cure

Today I took part in my sixth consecutive Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation Run for the Cure. This isn't a competitive race, of course, but I time my run every year and try to improve each time. Here are my times for which I kept a record. I didn't make a note of 2009's time, and I remember I had an ankle injury in 2010 that meant I had to walk the course.

2008 - 30:09
2011 - 26:43
2012 - 25:47
2013 - 24:59

For years I've been trying to break 25 minutes, and I did it for the first time ever today. That's 5:10 quicker than six years ago, when I was 41 years old.

So what did I do differently this time? (1) I knew I wanted to finish as quickly as I could, and when I ran the New Hamburg Classic in May, I had my worst 5k finish ever. The reason for that wasn't a lack of fitness, but simply starting too slowly. Today, I didn't care about running a consistent pace throughout the entire course, just finishing with a good time. I started really quickly at a pace I knew I wouldn't be able to maintain. If I had to slow down occasionally, or even walk, then so be it, and that's what happened. (2) I listened to music! As I mentioned in yesterday's blog post, I listened to Bruce Springsteen's Greatest Hits while on the treadmill and for some reason that gave me added momentum. I played the same album on my phone today - starting with "Born to Run", of course! - with the same effect. I never usually listen to music while running because I like to hear what's going on around me. That's going to change from now on!