Running goals

Goal 1: Get to the point of comfortably running 2-3 miles, 3 times a week.

I don't have any aspirations to become a long distance runner, I just want to make running a regular part of my schedule. Training for the 5k will naturally help me accomplish this goal. I found some advice on Runner's World suggesting a mileage increase of 10% per week, so that is what I am following to get myself up to the 5k distance. I'm not sure if I will continue increasing mileage beyond the 5k...If I do, I think that 5-mile runs is really the farthest I would want to go. I guess we'll see.

Goal 2: Finish the 5k without walking

This is my top goal for the 5k and it is much more important to me than speed.

Goal 3: Finish the 5k in under ??? minutes

Okay, obviously this goal isn't fully formulated yet. I recently bought a Garmin running watch, which is hugely motivating for me. As you may suspect for someone doing a Ph.D. in the sciences, I just love data =). So it is super fun for me to look at my running stats and track my progress. And I'm hoping that the Garmin will help me figure out a comfortable pace to aim for. So far, my pace varies between 9:50 - 11:10 min/mile or so, depending on the hilliness of the course, the weather, and how I'm feeling, so I'm not really sure what to aim for as a race pace.

And as you can see, I'm pretty slow =). I've always been a slow runner, even back when I ran track for one (miserable) season back in high school, I was pretty much the slowest one on the team. But the actual speed doesn't matter to me that much, as long as I'm getting a good workout, doing the best I can do, and enjoying myself.

I've been loving my runs lately, so hopefully I can keep it up! I'm definitely getting the running bug...