Running another 5k race this weekend

So I'm registered for another 5k race this weekend in Topeka. It's the Law Day 5k. If you watch WIBW you've seen it advertised on there as they are a sponsor. Race time is 3 pm on Saturday.

I'm getting closer and closer to losing 100 pounds since starting this journey. Hopefully that will happen in the next week or two.

Also, I've been working on a playlist when I run. Here's the playlist from my last race.

Barbastella - Batman Begins soundtrack (I use this as a warmup before the race, walk around, lineup before the start)
The Birth and Death of the Day - Explosions in the Sky
A-Punk - Vampire Weekend
Shake It - Metro Station
Kids - MGMT
Hey Little World - The Hives
Born This Way - Lady Gaga (skipped this song as it was getting close to the end of the race and I really wanted to hear the next one)
List of Demands - Saul Williams
Sunshine (Adagio in D Minor) - Sunshine soundtrack

I'm always open to suggestions. If you have anything similar to what I have above or think I might like, please let me know. With rare exception, I don't know anything really current but that doesn't mean I'm against it.

Correction - My 5k time was even better

So the official results came out yesterday and my 5k time was 28:51 and not 29:12 like I thought. I'm pretty stoked by that. Also, I was about 30 seconds from placing 3rd. So close!

I signed up for another 5k on April 30th in Topeka. My goal for that race is to see if I can beat 28:51. The course is near Washburn University and the neighborhood to the west so my guess is that the course will be a little similar to the one I just ran as far as the inclines and declines. We shall see.

Today's 5k - 90 pounds lighter - 11 minutes faster

Ran my 2nd 5k this morning and my 4th race overall since starting my journey. I was worried that I wouldn't do very well because I haven't been running much since last month's 2-mile race. My 2 major goals for this race were running the entire race and finishing with a better time than my first 5k back in September of last year. I knew that if I ran the whole race then there was no doubt my time would be faster.

Well I definitely accomplished both goals. I finished this morning in a time of 29:12. That's over 11 minutes faster than my previous 5k. I even ran a faster pace than my 2-mile race last month.

A quick comparison:
9/18/10 - 335+ pounds - 40:33
4/16/11 - 245 pounds - 29:12

I feel like I pushed myself but I was also hurting a bit from not running very much over the past month. I didn't finish in the top 3 of my age group or win any door prizes but it wasn't why I ran. It was for a great cause and for my own health. I ran well and ran the whole race. I'm ecstatic with my time and I'm looking forward to my next race.

Look at me now

My wife gave me a new shirt and pair of shorts for my birthday. Check it out.

Compare that to August of last year in the picture below. Yikes!

What a difference a year can make

This morning I had my health screening for Get Fit Wamego. I took my readings from last year with me to compare and see how much they've changed. Some are really dramatic. According to their scale I am now under 250 pounds.

Everything has gone down. The only negative is that my HDL, the good cholesterol, has gone down also. There are foods I can eat to get that number up while continuing to keep the bad cholesterol down. In addition to the weight loss, the most dramatic change are the triglyceride levels. Keeping that number down keeps the blood flowing through you without your arteries narrowing or hardening, i.e. really important.