MiKE: 11:39 for 2.4km?

So, I've been going to the AC, because, without spending a fortune on warmers, it would be impossible to run in this kind of weather. The AC, Athletic Centre, has a 200m indoor track, a 50m pool, gym equipment (including an elliptical runner which *gasp* I could not (yet) figure out), and, quite importantly a steam room, which, unfortunately, smells of stale sweat and grime, but is nonetheless welcome because its a steam room!

I've been running, and previous to this, I've timed myself at up to 12:24 for a 2.4km run - the passing standard for IPPT at my age category would be 12:00 (i think). Today, i timed myself, and as the title says, i got a 11:39. I have a analogue stopwatch, so when i first stopped timing, I was quite disappointed, as I thought I had pushed myself reasonably hard. Then, i looked closely and realized that it was 11:39, instead of 12:39, and then i felt happy again, and promised to reward myself with a slice of pizza from Papa Ceo's. Did some weights, went to the steam room, bought the pizza, came home, showered, ate, and then I started to have doubts about the timing.

You see, it is quite hard to keep track of the lap count - with a 200m track, I have to count 12 laps, and somehow, I always mess up on laps 3-7, I think because my body feels most shocked that I am actually running, and it feels the most difficult, and I have not gotten into the rhythm of the run yet. So I know that I do a 200m lap in about a minute or so, and so, if I were to add a minute to the timing, to make about 12:45 or so for my 2.4km timing, it would seem more reasonable, given that I don't think my fitness can improve so dramatically so soon.

But then again, I was running quite much harder than my previous occassions. And I have had experiences, in sg at least, where i manage to cut a lot off my timing by a few practice sessions. So I am now not so sure either way. I guess the only way to settle it is to go run again soon. Sigh. Does anybody know of a low tech (not throw-money-at-the-problem style) solution to lap counting? I know a pedometer or a Nike+iPod could probably do the trick, but like i said, i really don't want to spend money on this.

Anyway, here is a picture of the pizza. This place is one of those mom-and-pop places run by an italian looking (?? no, he did not grab his crotch as he was speaking to me) guy who names all his pizzas with the names of famous italians; what i remembered was Luciano Pavarotti, Al Pacino, the Godfather, the Terminator(?); err, there were more, but I did not remember them. Me, I bought a Roberto Begnini, a vegetarian pizza with basil, eggplant, mushroom, and tomato slices:


Good stuff, and cheap for the amount of food; pizza pizza, a pizza chain (duh) sells their pizza for about the same price $3.50, but theirs is smaller, and has so much less ingredients. I think I have found another food place that I would go to again. :)