Personal Best Running Times

1500m: 5min 35sec (Abras Tracks, Dubai, May 2013)
The second time I ran a 1500m race, and I beat my previous PB by 11 seconds. Still not quite happy with the time. I thought I could go under 5:30. My speed is still not good enough for short races like this one. The weather was horrible though, very hot. 50m into the race my throat was very dry. It felt like someone was strangling me.

3000m: 11min 35sec (Abras Tracks, Dubai, May 2013)
Only once per year I get to run 3000m on a track. This was my second time and I improved my PB by a minute. 

5000m: 20min 20sec (Abras Tracks, Dubai, 29 April 2013)
A month after the last race (see below the 10k race), I felt recovered and energized again. It was a month with lots of slow running combined with interval sessions at 4:00 pace. My previous PB was 21:30. I knew I could do much better than that. The weather was good for end of April in Dubai, although humidity was quite high. I had an awesome race, leaving some people behind me that are usually faster. Quite happy with the 20:20. Next on the cards is a sub 20 time.

10k: 41min 46sec (Abras 10k, Dubai, 29 March 2013)
Just a month earlier I set a new PB with 42:47. A PB is a PB. However I was not happy with that time. I knew I could run sub 42:00. That 10k race at the end of March had perfect conditions: rather cool temperatures (at least for Dubai) and no wind. It was also the last official race of the 2012/13 season. The pressure was on. I wasn't sure if I had enough energy and motivation left in me, as I ran  a hilly 10k race just a week before. Well, I knocked off a whole minute. Great way to finish the  season.

10 miles: 1h 20min 02sec (Donut 10 Dubai, 16 November 2010)
10 miles are not exactly my favorite distance. I rather do 10k or a Half Marathon. This one was particularly difficult as the course was hilly (something I am not used to at all) and I ran it with a stiff neck and couldn't see what was happening behind me. I think there are people that are still happy that they overtook me on the last meters before the finish. Nevertheless my best time over 10 miles. Probably because I was already training hard for the full marathon.

Half Marathon: 1h 32min 59sec (RAK, 15 February 2013)
With perfect weather conditions and still being at the peak of fitness after the full marathon three weeks ago, I set out to get a 1:35 half marathon time. Right from the start my pace was faster than necessary for 1:35. I managed to knock off over 4 minutes and finished in just under 1:33. I guess that puts a sub 1:30 half marathon onto the agenda for the next season.

Full Marathon: 3h 26min 37sec (Dubai, 25 January 2013)

I was training for a 3:20:00 marathon. But all the way I knew it might be a tad too ambitious. The pace to achieve a 3:20 never felt 100% comfortable during training. Yet, it is still 9 minutes off last year's PB and I am very happy with it. I am keeping the 3:20 in mind for the Berlin Marathon in September.