Looking ahead, but not too far

Yesterday was an absolutely beautiful day and I fully took advantage. I had planned to hit the gym for a run on the treadmill, but I couldn't resist such a mild (+5C - yes, that's mild!) and sunny evening. I went for another 5K (28:55) and felt good. It was a comfortable pace without too much effort (interestingly, it works out to almost exactly the same pace as my 2:01:00 half marathon), so I'm looking forward to improving my 5K time once I'm 100%. I'd like to see something closer to 25:00.

But I shouldn't be thinking about that just yet.

I recently moved to a new neighbourhood, which I love, but there is one slight problem: there are hills everywhere! And I don't mean minor inclines, but actual hills. No matter where I turn, I am facing a long, steady climb or a short & steep monster. I love a good hilly run now and then, but unfortunately hills are one of the IT band's worst enemies. For now, I just try to take it slow up the hills and usually only feel a tiny bit of discomfort, which fades as soon as I hit level ground. When I start increasing my distance, I will probably drive to flatter neighbourhoods, at least until I am out of the woods with this injury.

Speaking of distance, I was looking at my calendar and realized that the Sporting Life 10K is just over 5 weeks away. If I can add one KM to my runs each week, I should be ready just in time. Let's think positive here and assume I can keep my ITBS at bay.