Monday, I had a great run.  I ran a 5k loop (5200m to be more precise), and I hit the first and third miles under 8 minutes. The second mile was a bit high (8:15), and I thought I’d be able to bring it down in my next run.

Today, I got home from class, changed into my running clothes, and went out for a run. Beautiful weather again – mid 60′s and no rain.  Woot! Perfect running weather. Too bad it wasn’t a perfect run.

My intent was to go out in about the same time as Monday and then push a little harder on the second mile to stop from dropping off so much. I went out just fine (~7:45-7:50 for the first mile, compared to 7:40 on Monday), but my second mile dropped off even further (~8:35 compared to ~8:15). Argh!

What happened? Not sure. Shortly into the second mile, I started experiencing some gas, and having to belch while you run is not such a comfortable feeling. I also had a cramp in my right side about halfway through the mile. I thought I was pushing the pace, but it turns out I was slackening up a bit. Perhaps due to the burping/cramp I perceived my effort as harder than it was. Hopefully some more practice will help me learn the pace better.

I picked up the pace on my third mile, and ran that in about 7:55 to 8:00 – just perfect.  That puts my 5k time at around 25:30, and I finished the 5200m loop in 26:07. All in all, not a bad run… but it was a bit slower than I hoped. I was looking forward to doing the same as Monday and perhaps improving a bit.