Virtual Running Shorts - July 5k

If you've been following along with my posts on runDisney's Virtual Running Shorts, you'll know that these are three 5k races taking place this summer where you can run whenever you want, where ever you want. I have signed up for the series, which means running three 5k races: one in June, one in July and the final race in August. You can read about my June 5k here. 

At the end of the series I plan to write a review of the Virtual Running Shorts, including things like the nature of a virtual race, what I thought about the cost and registration process, the medals and how they were delivered, etc., but as I go along I will also be blogging about each individual race and talking about that specific experience. This blog post covers my July 5k.

I ran my July 5k on Saturday, July 29, which meant I had a month between races and a total of 10 weeks training for this race. I ran at the same park I used for my June 5k, because it features two trails: one is 1 mile long and the other is 1.1 miles, which means it's super easy to track 3.1 miles for my 5k. Not to mention it's close to where I live and very pretty. I used the 1 mile trail for my first lap, the 1.1 mile trail for my second lap, then back to the 1 mile trail to complete my race. I started my race at 8:20am and it was 73 degrees and sunny. That's a little warmer and sunnier than my last race but not super hot, although the temperature had increased 9 degrees by the time I got done.

For my June 5k I ran for 1 minute, then walked for 2 minutes so that I wouldn't burn out and would actually make it to the finish line. This worked but in hindsight I felt like I didn't need to talk that much and therefore slowed myself down much more than I needed to. For this 5k I decided to run to failure (which basically means when you literally can't anymore) then walk until I had recovered which in training was 1 minute, and repeat.

I started the race with 2 minutes of brisk walking to warm up, then got right into running. I felt like my first mile was strong, I was pleased with how much I was running, although I didn't time how long or for what distance, and I felt like my walk breaks were short. I was aiming for 16 minute miles or less, which would mean if this were a real Disney race, I wouldn't get swept. I completed the first mile in 15:02 and I was really happy with that!

Well my second lap was tougher for some reason. I got a pain in my ribs at once point, then that went away and later on I got a pain in my thigh. It was very distracting. I felt like my walk breaks were more frequent this lap and my running time/distance was shorter. I don't know why it was so tough. I wanted to get done with this lap in under 17 minutes (allowing an extra minute for the extra 0.1 mile) but this lap took 19 minutes even. I was very disappointed and couldn't really evaluate what went wrong or why it took so long.

On to my final mile and I didn't think I was going to make it. I wonder if I accidentally went too fast and didn't pace my running very well. That's hard for me to do because I'm not aiming for speed but I was a sprinter in high school so I was trained for speed not distance. If I go slow, I don't feel like I'm moving or going anywhere. On the third mile I felt like I was running through molasses, super slow and going nowhere. I was getting out of breath more quickly, and I was feeling like I was simultaneously going to throw up and pass out. I wondered if I'd have to walk the entire last mile just to finish and why I'm the only human who finds this so hard. I've been training for 10 weeks for goodness sake!

I kept at it and just tried to keep running even if just for 45 seconds to a minute before taking walk breaks and keeping them as short as I could. As awful as I felt my final mile went, it wasn't actually as bad as I thought because I finished in 16:05, just 5 seconds over my goal. So I was happy with my final mile, really happy with my first mile, and really disappointed by my 1.1 mile. My overall time was 50:07, which was 3:03 minutes off of my last 5k time, for 1:01 minutes off of my mile pace. 

I was even more happy to unwrap my medal for this race because this one was harder than the last! I'm disappointed by time time because although my average pace was 15:45, once again I would have gotten swept if this were a real Disney race. (And again, thank the maker for the virtual races!) I would have been much happier if I could have stuck to 15 minute miles and completed the race around the 45 minute mark. Maybe next race.

I also hope there are less people about because there were so many people this time! The dogs were distracting, some people wouldn't move despite me telling them and it was awkward to get around people, especially when I knew I would start walking soon after passing them. I'm not attributing any of that to my time or making excuses, just noting a difference between this race and June's 5k.

Most of my disappointment stems from the fact that I can't pinpoint why my 1.1 mile lap took so long. For my August 5k I plan to do the same intervals of running to failure and then taking a walk break. I'll try to make sure I'm pacing myself well and not going too fast, and maybe I'll even time my walk breaks to ensure they're not too long. I may also get out there an hour earlier to see if that helps with the heat and number of people.