scenic hills that look nicer than they actually are
Saturday I ran a 5k in the evening, less than 12 hours after running a 5k that morning. This was different from last month when I ran two races 12 hours apart on two different days, since I got a decent night's sleep in between the races. This time I rested and dozed off for a few minutes, but I definitely went into this race already tired.
This was a tough race, but I liked it. I liked the course, which was a mix of fields and woods, which is my favorite. It felt quite reminiscent of my favorite high school cross country races, except those were flatter. There were a lot of hills on this course and some of them were steep, which made for a challenging course.
But as I keep saying, if I were better trained, it wouldn't be so bad. One of these days I'll actually have the time to spend more time on the treadmill, but I can only do so much in a day and the treadmill is losing out to other things more often than not. It's not permanent, so I'm not stressing about it too much.
Running two races on Saturday was a first for me. I didn't get enough sleep Friday night, so I went into the morning race tired. I managed to doze a few minutes after getting home, but not for long. I had thought about working on a project, but in the end just decided to rest and read a book.
The first half mile or so was pretty rough (it had a long steep hill that didn't help), but after that I settled in and it wasn't so bad. I walked the up hills and jogged the down hills like I usually do. The first mile was through fields and past a small vineyard, then most of the second mile was double track through the woods. The double track was quite nice- smooth with very few rocks and roots, so I didn't have any problems with it. The third mile took us back around close to where we started, with the finish line at the bottom of the hill we'd climbed at the beginning. Pretty nice ending, and much nicer than ending on an uphill.
My heels were bothering me again. They bothered me a bit in the morning race too, but this time was bad. Bad enough I actually took my shoes off for a stretch of grass in the third mile. This is the third time it's been an issue and I've worn different pairs of socks each time, so that's not the source of the problem like I initially thought. The best I can figure is it's a combination of the surface of my orthotics (some sort of fabric that's getting worn) and tying my shoes too tightly. I don't like slipping around in my shoes, but after I put my shoes back on I loosely tied them and didn't have as much of a problem. It's about time to replace my orthotics anyway, but they're pricey and I'd rather spend the money on other things. I think I'm going to have to give in and do it anyway though- the burning pain is pretty unbearable.
I ran 3.04 miles in 43:17. That was a 14:13 pace, which is a lot slower than my morning 5k pace. I blame all the hills in this race. The faster second mile was the trail through the woods :)
1st mile: 14:14
2nd mile: 13:25
3rd mile: 15:15
12th race in 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
|
March
|
Pi
Day Virtual 5k
|
1:01:30
|
March
|
Obstacle
Race
|
44:06
|
April
|
Glow
Run
|
35:16
|
April
|
April
5k
|
41:15
|
April
|
Evening
Run
|
34:59
|
May
|
May
5k
|
35:18
|
May
|
Evening
Cross Country Race
|
43:17
|
24th race towards 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
|
16.
|
March
|
Pi Day Virtual 5k
|
5k
|
Virtual 5k Walk
|
17.
|
March
|
10 mile race
|
Not applicable
|
Water stop volunteer
|
18.
|
March
|
Obstacle Race
|
5k
|
Obstacle run
|
19.
|
April
|
Glow Run
|
5k
|
Glow Run, 1st of 2 races in 12 hours
|
20.
|
April
|
April 5k
|
5k
|
Pushing jogger, 2nd of 2 races in 12 hours
|
21.
|
April
|
Evening Run
|
5k
|
Evening run
|
22.
|
May
|
10k Kayak Race
|
10k
|
Kayak race
|
23.
|
May
|
May 5k
|
5k
|
5k, 1st of 2 races in same day
|
24.
|
May
|
Evening CC Race
|
5k
|
Evening cross country, 2nd of 2 races in same
day
|