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20K Challenge Day 37: Today is a rest day for running however I felt great so I decided to take a bike ride. I went to Red Rock and rode the trail and hills. It was such a nice Day I decided to do the whole trail loop twice. I went 46 miles in less than 3 hours. To add to the workout I was riding my Wal-Mart special heavy duty mountain bike. The rest of the week is going to be a change from the schedule as I am running in a 5k on Wednesday night in Pella. Although I will probably still get my six miles in as I will stop by Red Rock after the race on the way home and run another 3 miles. I felt I needed to see how running with others effects my pace well before the start of the 20K.

Day 40 20K challenge: Ran the Klompen Classic 5k in Pella tonight. At noon it was 68 degrees and sunny and by 7pm race start it was 50 degrees cloudy and 30mph winds which made it an interesting run to say the least. I ended up running the race in my full sweats as it was way too cold to strip down to run. By the end of the race it was in the 40’s and wind chills in the 30’s. I finished in just ov…er 29 minutes and met up with Andrea Crabb Vlahakis and Rod in the finish area. I am pretty sure she could out run me 28 years ago in school and today proved to be the same. It was a good learning experience as the start was crazy with kids weaving in and out and you had to dodge people everywhere. We ran straight into the wind for the start. And we had to go into the wind just before the finish which was killer. I have learned that my mind is not where it needs to be to get me through the 20k. Also make sure I take my running watch next time so I don’t go out so fast that I burn out before the finish.

My splits were roughly 8.5 for first mile, 9.5 for second mile and 11 for last 1.1 miles.

Dave finished the Klompen Classic 5K Run in a time of 00:29:10, overall place 596, gender place 395, division place 28

My new Fitness Center membership paid off tonight. I worked out on the elliptical for over an hour and really got to work the stiffness out of my body from last night’s cold run with no stretching afterwards. Really beats running in the cold and wet snow outside that we are currently getting. Especially when I can look out my window of my house and see the fitness center doors.

Day 43 20K Challenge: Ran 10 miles in 1:35:52. I managed to do reverse splits the whole way running the first 5 miles is just over 50 minutes. Then running the next 3 miles in 28:39 and finishing the last two miles in 17:10. Felt really good and finished strong. Finally think I have a grasp on the food and nutrition a bit and how to drink and eat while running and the day before a long run. Started wearing my iPod and listening to an audio book during the run and this really helped keep my mind busy while my legs kept knocking down the miles. I have lost 19 pounds so far in 6 weeks.