True, but some races are better than others in terms of the mix of folks they draw. For example, where I am, a number of racers are qualifiers for bigger ones that draw world class runners. Those aren't the best options for families with kids who are new to the process.

Almeeker, the zoo race sounds fun. I hope y'all enjoy it! Doesn't it make you feel good that she's thinking healthy lifestyle???!!!

That sounds like a ball. Check to see if they will do a group discount - some races will, but you may need to contact the organizer directly.

Tempo run this morning
 

1 mile warm up, 3 miles at "comfortable hard", 1 mile cool down.

The objective of a tempo run is to "improve endurance by raising lactate threshold". That is getting the muscles to work harder and longer before they start to burn.

uggg it is hot already at 6:30... but off we go!

Well, we got the "hard" part of the tempo run, but I wouldn't say that it was ever "comfortable"

Good luck all you east coasters with Irene bearing down on you. Stay safe and don't do like those idiots in florida who walked out on a jetty to watch the big waves roll in :confused:. Darwin award winners???

Wow. that is great.

I found this training plan for novice and it seem very easy. I have 7 weeks to train for my 10 K. And today I run 2 miles + weight. 2 miles out of the way.
Tomorrow will cross training. I plan to walk and play tennis.

Is this storm really bad? People are buying like crazy at the stores. I wonder if I should too.
Mai

Off subject - Irene
 

I posted a response on "off topic"

Abby

Tempo should not be comfortable, more just over the border of comfortable/uncomfortable so you did it right.

You might want to cut the tempo back to 20-25 min. Your planned 10K pace is very close to your tempo pace and a 3 mile run is a bit long.

Well, I ran my race this morning and it was brutal. It was an incredibly fast field, there were at least 5 running clubs that had entered and they all hauled donkey:mad:
I feel I finished decent, I ran a 22:13 / 7:10 pace and finished 13th of 34 in my age div (40-44) and came in 105 / 1024 overall- kinda sucked not being in the top 10, but oh well, next time:D

I also signed up for 3 more 5k's, I got one next weekend (9/3), the following weekend (9/11) and I also tried to get in on some early bird pricing for a big run on 10/3. There's also another 5k on 9/17 that I still need to register for- it's an afternoon race, those are kinda weird for me, so I'm still on the fence with that one.

I still want to break the sub 22:00 barrier, looks like I've got some training ahead of me...

sw07, how long have you been running and what is a typical week you're currently doing?

Getting under 20:00 will require a good amount of interval training as the 5K is a very anaerobic event.

You still might need higher mileage as your performance above the 5K drops off.
This calculator predicts a 36:37/5 mile and a 45:55/10K based on your 5K.