Two-and-a-half minutes.

It might not seem like much ... 150-odd seconds ... but there's a lot you can do in two-and-a-half minutes.

You can fall in love, you can save a life, you can drink a soft-drink (or a beer on a hot day).

You can sing a pop-song, or brush your teeth - or even improve your 5K running time by 7.5%.

Guess which of those I did today?

Well, actually, I did a few - I sang a song, and drank a beer, and brushed my teeth ... and shaved 2.5 mins off my 5K running speed.

Today was the second of my Sanctuary Cove fun-runs ... and while it will be a couple of days before I get my official time, I'm pretty sure it will be within a whisker of 32-neat.

Which is, as mentioned, 2mins 30 seconds better than last month's time.

Woot!

Today's run felt good - despite some .... ummm ... impediments.

The day started well enough - I woke up well before my alarm, and should have got to the race in plenty of time.

Instead, because I had so much 'spare time', I fiddled and faddled - and then headed off to the Gold Coast a few minutes later than intended.

Then, because I was trying to get my new nav-sat working in the car, I sat in the car at Sanctuary Cove for about 10 minutes after arriving ... only to realize that the race was due to start in 10 mins!

Off to the registration desk, dash I - to get my chip - and then off to the loo - since I've discovered it's ALWAYS a good idea to have a wee walk before a run.

But just as I'm walking in to the facilities, the course announcer tells us all to line up near the finish line. Grrr. I hate rushing!

A quick whizz later, and I'm with the 800 or so runners-and-walkers preparing to race ... and hear that the course this month is different to last month's run.

It's still flat, and its still mostly on the road - but we'll be passing each other more often ... and we start from a crowded, narrow street, rather than the car-park of last race.

All of this rushing - and then jostling - causes me to (a) press the wrong button on my stopwatch and (b) mis-program my MP3 player - so instead of a nice, consistent beat from a Podrunner podcast, I get a mix of Prince and Dixie Chick tracks. Not exactly conducive to a fast run.

So - no music today ... and when I get to the 1K marker I notice that my stopwatch isn't running. Arrgh. I quickly reset it ... and then immediately notice that I've again stuffed up, and still have no timer! Ah well.

I notice, however, that I'm passing more people this race than I did last month ... and I wonder whether the 10K run that I did during the week, under the tutelage of the fantastic Annie (*), has helped more than I thought.

By the time I get to the 2K marker, I finally get my stopwatch working, and can relax into the groove of the run ... even chatting to a few other runners as we pass the half-way point.

I get to the 3K mark, and see that I'm doing 6:30 for the km ... which is well up on my usual 7:30 - so I'm feeling good.

We get to the 4K marker about 6-and-a-half minutes later, and I do a quick calculation in my head ... and think "hmmm".

I FEEL like I'm running stronger ... and at this rate, I'll do about a 32:30 ... 2 minutes faster than the last Sanctuary Cove event.

It's about now that I decide I can pick up the pace a little more ... and while I'm still not fast, I feel better than I have at this stage of a race before.

And there's the line ... the time?

Well, as I say, I can't be sure ... but it's gotta be within a couple of secs of 32-neat ... meaning I'd run the last km in a time of around 6 minutes! Woot!

It might not seem like much - but for a back-of-the-pack runner like me, it's something to be chuffed about.

And who knows? I might not have been the slowest in my age-group this time! I'll find out on Tuesday.

I've decided that my next 5K race will be UNDER 30 minutes .. I figure if I can pick up 2:30 this month, I can pick up another 2:00 over the next month!

That, and finishing the 10K Brisbane Marathon Festival run next Sunday in under 75 mins will be enough for me .... although there IS a flat half-marathon on the Gold Coast in July ....

Regards

Graham C

(*) Annie was a runner who spotted me doing a run along the river-front last week, and despite obviously being faster, and vastly more experienced, stayed with me right through the run ... offering advice, assistance, encouragement and even a kick in the pants at one stage.

I can't tell you how grateful I am for her doing so ... she's given me renewed confidence, and some great tips which I'm looking forward to putting into practice!