Well, here I am in the final week of the Couch-to-5K Running Plan. I finished up day 2 yesterday, and like the rest of week 9, day 2 calls for a 5-minute brisk walk, followed by 30 minutes of running. This  run was done outside, using a 1/2 mile loop in the neighborhood. The temperature was in the upper 40s, with no precipitation. With this run, I wanted to try doing negative splits, and pace myself for a strong final mile, and ideally all 3 miles in under 30 minutes.

I started off nice and slow (too slow, really), but was able to pick up the pace with each subsequent lap. Unfortunately, my start was slow enough that I didn't make it in under 30 minutes, but I came really, really close. On the bright side, I succeeded in doing all negative splits. Here are the details from yesterday's run:

Splits (.5 mile, in minutes:seconds):

• Lap 1: 5:40:15
• Lap 2: 5:18:14
• Lap 3: 5:10:81
• Lap 4: 5:05:58
• Lap 5: 4:41:28
• Lap 6: 4:38:02 (4:16:10 running + 0:21:92 walking after my 30 minutes ended)

Additional Details (running portion):

• Distance Covered: 2.98 miles
• Duration: 30:00
• Avg. Speed: 5.96 mph
• Avg. Pace: 10:04/mile

There's one more run left for me in the Couch-to-5K Running Plan, Day 3 of Week 9. I'll be doing that run tomorrow, and then taking it easy Thursday and Friday, then the Jingle Bell Run 5K is on Saturday. Wish me luck!