1 week left before the race!

Spring in the Park 10K is next Saturday (April 27th) - so that means I am nearly at the end of my training for this race.

When I set the goal of a 7:30 min/mile average pace, I felt I had all the time in the world to get back to my fast-pace shape. Reality, however, often has other ideas.

Training has been spotty. The weather these past months has been less than ideal for running outside, and I am not a treadmill person. Nonetheless, I took advantage of any opportunity to run outside to get most of my workouts done - but I have to admit that I wasn't always compliant with my training plan!

One thing I did become acutely aware of, during my cold-weather running days, is that I am prone to exercise-induced asthma. Any effort in the cold leaves me gasping, forcing me to slow down or walk a bit to catch my breath. It is not pleasant, and it is definitely a barrier to performance that I didn't have to deal with in my past. I have an Albuterol inhaler, I just need to remember to use it before any race effort training (or race).

Although I haven't nailed the 7:30 during my training, I'm pretty happy with where I've been able to push my speed up to this point. I saw a few 7:40's during longer intervals (under ideal conditions!) and I know that if I continue with this training, I'll get to my goal. But will I get there by next weekend? I'm honestly not sure. But I know that whatever I do next week, it will be to the best of my current ability, and I'll have to be happy with that.

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