March 5k Recap

the temperatures may be warming up, but there's no leaves on the trees yet

Saturday I ran  a 5k and found my new favorite course. Truly flat courses are super hard to find, and this one gets about as close as you can in our neck of the woods. It's very slightly inclined going out, which makes the for a very slight decline coming back. The incline/decline is so slight as to be almost unnoticeable, though I did have a slightly easier time on the way back.

I plan on running this race next year and hope to be properly trained (and not sick for the three months leading up to it) so I can get a really good PR. Even without being properly trained and still recovering from months of crud I did quite well.

I ran 3.1 miles in 33:49. For reference, in the 34 5ks I've run since we moved here 6 years ago, only 8 have been under 34 minutes. Only one or two races a year has come in under 34 minutes, but I've already run two races under 34 minutes this year (the New Year's 5k was the other one). This has helped me pinpoint my next goal time for 5ks: under 33 minutes.

If you look at my split times, you'll see that I actually sped up a bit the last mile, which I was able to do because of that slight decline. I haven't had negative splits in who knows how long, so it's super exciting. Because of my under training, I interspersed walk breaks with my running almost from the beginning of the race. Not what I wanted to do, but clearly it worked in this race.

1st mile: 11:02
2nd mile:11:09
3rd mile: 10:45

The course was quite scenic- we ran on tree-lined country roads under an overcast sky. The clouds kept the sun out of our eyes, which was great, and the mid 50s temperatures were just right for running in short sleeves and capri tights.

As I ran, I came to several conclusions.

• Pounding down the sidewalk into the finish line last week was not great for my shins- they've been hurting all week. 
• My shoes really need to be replaced. 
• Running after three straight months of being sick kind of sucks. I alternated running/walking, but would have preferred to run the whole thing. 
• Extra weight doesn't make running any easier (despite everything I can think of, including almost completely cutting out chocolate, my weight keeps ticking up- grr).

Last week I got on the treadmill once for a total of 1.87 miles. I managed some running, but not a lot. It's going to be a challenge to build my mileage back up, but it's time to get moving, especially since I've got a half marathon coming up at the end of April. I'll be relying on my old-standby: under training. I'd like to be better prepared, but there's only so much I can do while trying to resolve various health challenges.

Thursday we finally went to a local park and hiked the trails for a bit. I've been meaning to do this for years, but never managed it until now. I gotta say I'm kicking myself over that: it was a great workout. I pushed River in Bob and carried Ocean on my back while Sunshine led the way. Pushing a two year old in a rugged jogger up and down hills and over rocks and tree roots was a great workout, even if we were just walking the entire time.  We did 1.21 miles and I pushed River for the first .75 miles. At that point he hopped out of the jogger and walked the rest of the way. I'm torn about this though. I got a much better workout when he was in the jogger, but it's good for him to get out and walk, too. Ocean doesn't weigh as much as River, but I could transfer him to the jogger for the extra weight there. There's lots more loops for us to try, so we'll be back, hopefully on a weekly basis. The trails are also good for strengthening my ankles for future trail runs, since despite my less-than-stellar experiences and performances, I still sign up for them.

1.87 miles treadmill + 1.21 mile hike + 5k race = 6.18 miles

5th race of 2016

Month	Event	Time
January	New Year’s Day 5k	33:01
February	Frostbite 5k	37:37
February	Mud Run	1:35:37
March	4k Walk	33:19
March	March 5k	33:49

15th race of my 40 by 40 goal

	Date	Event	Distance	Event Type
1.	July 2015	4th of July 5k	5k	Pregnant
2.	August	4 Mile Fun Run	4 miles	Road Race
3.	September	All Terrain	5k	Mixed surface
4.	October	Hill Valley Half	13.1 miles	Virtual half marathon
5.	October	Corn Maze 5k	5k	Corn Maze
6.	October	Kilted Trail 5k	5k	Kilted race
7.	November	Trail Half	13.6 miles	Trail Half
8.	November	Turkey Trot	5k	Road Race
9.	December	Veteran’s 5k	5k	Mixed surface
10.	December	Army Virtual Marathon	26.23 miles	Virtual marathon
11.	January 2016	New Year’s Day 5k	5k	Road race
12.	February	Frostbite 5k	5k	Cross country race
13.	February	Mud Run	4.8 miles	Mud run
14.	March	4k Walk	4k	Walk
15.	March	March 5k	5k	Road race