2017 Dulles Airport 5K, September 23, 2017 Pictures
A year later... all the pain is back. Not much improvement. The record doesn't show the whole 5K.
2017 Richmond Somewhere, May, 2017 Pictures
Some story.recordwhole 5K.
Somewhere here MY BIG MARINE CORPS MARATHON story
2016 RESTON 10 MILER, March 6, 2016 Pictures
My first 10-miler. It is not so impressive after having done 13.1 miles, but it was still pretty tough. Amazingly, I saved enough energy for the end to make a strong finish at a speed I didn't expect from myself. I finished 309th out of 937. Bib number "1097".
At this race I had a new buddy running with me - Hellen Abramova. It was her first race, but she did so much better than me! I got an SMS from her at the 9-mile mark. She was asking, "Did you finish yet?" I hope she will share some races with me in the future. Company makes running way more fun than running alone.
2015 Gar Williams Half Marathon, December 13, 2015 Pictures
December 13, 2015 - the day the word "MARATHON" appeared in the title of one of my runs for the first time! Honestly, running 13.1 miles is not an easy task. I finished 292nd out of 321. The result is far from decent, but I still did better than I expected: 2 h 26 min. Unfortunately, the results table is in a hard-to-read format, so search for me by my bib number, "2634".
2015 Making a Difference 5k Walk/Run, November 15, 2015 Pictures
On Friday, Nov 13, 2015, I finally became the owner of real running shoes! I used to be pretty skeptical about branded equipment, but these sneakers made a difference. For the first time in 3 months my feet give me no pain in the morning. I broke the half-hour limit: my time is 29:40. Unfortunately, I didn't start my watch in time, so the record doesn't show the whole 5K.
Third Annual Sprout 5k at Clyde’s Willow Creek Farm, October 25, 2015 Pictures
This run happened to follow exactly the same route as my "practice" track. The result is 32:04. I was really hoping that, since I knew every turn and hill, I could do my best. The day before, I ran it 3 times (Oct 24, 2015). In the end, the result is nothing special; the only good thing about it is that I was still able to make the same time even after 10 miles the day before.
2015 Dulles Airport 5K, September 12, 2015 Fairfax, VA Pictures
Run after run, but the results were almost the same... then suddenly a message came from Katia Volonsevich: "What do you think about an easy run? The airport runway is flat - guaranteed! You will do your best." So, the result is 30:26.
2015 Great American 5K, September 06, 2015 Fairfax, VA Pictures
This was not my race, not at all. Like every beginner, I was looking for company to make my practice time more exciting. In my close circle, only one young boy got excited about the idea of running together. I suggested a training plan for him similar to the one I was using to get ready for my 10K.
So, this was ALEX's 5K.
4th annual South Lakes 10k race, August 23, 2015 Reston, VA Pictures
Finally! The 10K I had waited so long for (3 months) happened. The run was hard, but a lot of fun. I did better than expected. In my two practice runs I was only able to get 1 h 20 min, but the crowd helps every time.
My time: 1 h 09 min
2015 Born to Run Memorial 5K, June 6, 2015 Chantilly, VA Pictures
I am 63rd on the men's list again. It is so sad! I was pushing so hard to be faster than last time, but the improvement is only 1 min.
2015 Cascades Firechase 10K/5K/1K, May 16, 2015 Sterling, VA Pictures
One position above me in the list is a guy who is 78 years old!!!! He passed me at the 4K mark while we were running uphill. This fella is the same age as my MOM!!!
2015 AOL Spring Into Summer, May 03, 2015 Dulles, VA Pictures
Meet Denis Ovchinikov (the son of my friends). He was 3rd in his age group.
Open Arms Spring Fling 5K, April 25, 2015 Ashburn, VA Pictures
My first 5K. My main thought after the finish: how can people run and talk at the same time?