Basically I’ve been trying to run some 5K’s lately, seeing as how I got so good at them back in my XC days.

The first time I ran was very discouraging. I was so out of shape, and ran in the smouldering heat (94 degrees with heavy sunlight) without any water. I ended up getting around 41 minutes total, which of course is terrible by any standards.

I tried it again the next day, and managed to get a little lower – 38 minutes.

I then waited two days (the weekend), and didn’t run at all, in order to ‘refuel’ myself. I went hiking on Sunday, but that was barely a challenge. I then tried the 5K again today, and was able to nudge my time down to 31 minutes.

I think a 10 minute improvement in 5 days is quite nice, and definitely shows that once you’ve done something once already, it comes back to you much quicker than if you’re doing it for the first time.