I’m now in my fifth month and starting to consider myself a bit of a runner. With just over 80 miles and 14 hours logged I am very pleased to still be finding it fun, relaxing and a new way to socialize while improving my fitness.

My goal to complete one 5K each quarter is half way completed after running in the Miles for Moffitt 5K this past Sunday morning.

My time was 30:56 which was good but a bit disappointing compared to my Gasparilla time of 29:02. That said I’ve learned more this last week or so that should improve my performance going forward.

Unlike the Gasparilla run, I did not get as much practice prior to the Moffitt race for two reasons. The first being a knot on the top of my right foot likely caused by my shoes and secondly the first race was preceded by the Couch to 5K running program which had me running very consistently three times per week instead of my current twice weekly average.

The above said I am making three changes that should improve performance and fun. On the suggestion of a friend I went to Feet First in South Tampa to get properly evaluated and purchased a new pair of shoes. Secondly I went right out and ran a practice 5K without stopping once at a 10:06 pace (total time 32:07). Finally I’ve signed up for email updates from Run Tampa and plan to do some social/group runs to help keep the scenery changing.