Last fall I started running and decided to challenge myself by aiming to compete in a 10k event at the end of this May.

When I started out, running for more than a minute or two was very hard. I stuck with it though and I gradually made my way to reaching 5km continuously which I believe took about 35 minutes the first time.

With two months to go, I'm happy to say that I'm still running regularly (despite a several week layoff at Christmas time) and recently completed my first 10k distances (albeit at the gym with the snow and ice outside).

Last week I ran 10k in 65:39 which was good to know that I could complete the distance and a measuring point to base future runs off of. Today, being a Saturday I ran 10k again in 61:19, a big improvement. I also had my personal best at the 5k mark, reaching it in 28:17.

It is good to set goals and challenge yourself. I feel more centered and relaxed after running. Originally I had hoped to do the 10k on race day under an hour, but with two months to go I think it is realistic to try to get 55 minutes or under.

I took a look at previous year results and my current time would get me into the 50th percentile of runners who finish, while 55min would get me in around the 75th percentile and if I could push it to 50min, the 90th percentile.

To keep my times in perspective, I looked up the 10,000m (10k) world record and race times and found that it is an insane time of under 27 minutes. That's incredible!