Day 16 - doubt

So day 16 of the 21-day running program has come. 24 minutes of running (2/1 x 8) and I covered 2.8 k. So that gives me an incorrect pace of 42:51 for 5k. I think they will steadily increase as I approach actually running the 5k and then after training through the distance the times should decrease.

The remaining days in the plan look like this (source about.com):

Day 17: 5/1 x4
Day 18: Rest
Day 19: 4/1 x6
Day 20: 2/1 x5
Day 21: 5/1 x5

I'm going to try to work on my stride on the rest day - most of the sites say running up hills can improve your stride length and speed over time. [They don't say what to do once you're at the top. My guess is coming down makes you shorten your stride and make you run slower! So no net gain. :) ] No mountains nearby so I'll do some step/stair exercises in the basement.

I checked out my race and there is a pledge form associated with registration. It's for support of the local hospital in Guelph. I think once I get closer to the goal I'll hit my friends and colleagues up for some money. Apparently if I collect $100 dollars worth of pledges the $30 entry fee is waived for me.

I snooped around some more and see that my mentors also have pledges associated with their races. I think I need to look at how often they run and how much I would like to pledge for them, and then give them an honest figure. I suspect my friends will do the same for me.

[P.S. am I actually going to run this race? I mean, there are so many things that can happen between now and then ... on top of that it's my birthday - I'll need to prepare my home for my birthday guests - plus I'm not even a newbie, I'm just a wannabe.

The only thing to do is collect all the obstacles and remove them one by one.]