Last Saturday I participated in the Mini Marathon Training Series 5k. I was nervous to run outside mostly because I hadn't since last fall and because I usually get some inner ankle pain when I run outside due to uneven pavement. I was also nervous since it was 30 degrees outside and I was taking a total gamble on what to wear...
Well I am glad to say that I was nervous for no reason at all! I wore exactly the right amount of layers and since I had gotten new shoes since my last outdoor run, I realized that it might have been my shoes last time. These didn't hurt at all. Sure I had a few walk breaks where I lengthened my stride to stretch out the legs, but overall, the run felt great. I finished at 36:53 which is right in line with all of the other 5k's that I have done in the past. I wasn't trying to break any records as I saw this run as step further in the training process. This was also the first time that I had run a whole race on my own (without someone running "with" me). It felt good to have that "on my own" feeling like "I CAN do this!".
Unfortunately...I got done with the run and was having a huge pinch up high on my shoulder. I felt like maybe my sports bra had pinched something the wrong way, but what I realized that the one accessory I forgot was sunglasses...I will NEVER do this again. I spent the afternoon napping away a huge migrane that hit full force once I got home. I guess squinting is not such a good thing. Especially when I am one of those people who wears sunglasses EVERYWHERE! So I have been feeling like I slept wrong on my neck all week :(
Moving forward though...did a 40 min run last night and am back on track for my training schedule. I still can't believe that on March 5 I am doing twice the distance (10k)...sometimes I don't know what I am thinking with all of this running, but the high I get when I am done and the clarity my brain has from the run make it so worthwhile...
Glad to be running!
Well I am glad to say that I was nervous for no reason at all! I wore exactly the right amount of layers and since I had gotten new shoes since my last outdoor run, I realized that it might have been my shoes last time. These didn't hurt at all. Sure I had a few walk breaks where I lengthened my stride to stretch out the legs, but overall, the run felt great. I finished at 36:53 which is right in line with all of the other 5k's that I have done in the past. I wasn't trying to break any records as I saw this run as step further in the training process. This was also the first time that I had run a whole race on my own (without someone running "with" me). It felt good to have that "on my own" feeling like "I CAN do this!".
Unfortunately...I got done with the run and was having a huge pinch up high on my shoulder. I felt like maybe my sports bra had pinched something the wrong way, but what I realized that the one accessory I forgot was sunglasses...I will NEVER do this again. I spent the afternoon napping away a huge migrane that hit full force once I got home. I guess squinting is not such a good thing. Especially when I am one of those people who wears sunglasses EVERYWHERE! So I have been feeling like I slept wrong on my neck all week :(
Moving forward though...did a 40 min run last night and am back on track for my training schedule. I still can't believe that on March 5 I am doing twice the distance (10k)...sometimes I don't know what I am thinking with all of this running, but the high I get when I am done and the clarity my brain has from the run make it so worthwhile...
Glad to be running!
Comments
It sounds like you're being smart by not trying for a PR. I've heard that when you're building up to a big race, the smaller races should be done as training runs, not pushing really hard because you could accidentally injure yourself. I tend to get caught up in "race mentality" and I think I'm lucky that I didn't injure myself on the 5 miler I did 5 weeks before my half.