I got my virtual race packet in the mail Friday, so I set out to do my own personal 5K – officially called the Running Brings Us Together 5K (benefitting Girls on the Run) at 8 a.m. Sunday.
It has been brutally, terribly hot this two weeks. I have gone out to run usually in the late afternoons after work, and the heat index is usually above 100 degrees. It’s unfortunate that I’ve lost all conditioning and am now trying to regain it by run/walking in what feels like the bowels of hell.
But on Sunday morning it was about 78 degrees, with a heat index of just a little over 80, so it was much more manageable. It was still super humid which caused a lot of sweating, but I could deal with it.
I haven’t run 3 miles straight in, oh, seven months – my “running” the past month has included a lot of walk breaks. For my virtual 5K, I ran 2.4 miles straight before taking a walk break on an uphill climb. I was breathing a bit heavy at that point because of the humidity, and it seemed like a good idea to catch my breath.
After I hit 3.1 miles, I stopped my watch and then walked about .3 back to my car. I posed with my medal for a picture as if it was a real race š
Not a good time at all, but since my paces have been 11-13- minutes per mile thanks to walking a lot, this was something to build upon as I try to work my way back to no walking at all.
Doing a virtual race was a nice motivator to run more, and I would like to do another one next month that’s a little longer as another way to challenge myself. I’ll probably forego buying a T-shirt next time to knock the price down a little, too.
Deep South Runner 