I really thought I would be writing a much more positive blog post this time around, but sadly, I did not get my redemption at the Cabin Fever Reliever 5K after my sub-par performance the Heart Run 5K two weeks prior. Instead, I ran even slower! Eleven seconds slower than I did at the Heart Run and 41 seconds slower than I did a year ago at this same race.
Truth be told, 4 days after the race I’m still bummed about it (and embarrassed, quite frankly). This race did not reflect the direction my training had been going, which also makes it harder to swallow.
At the end of the day, I am still very thankful to be able-bodied and have the ability to run, and to be healthy and injury-free because I will get through this–just like I have when these things happened in the past.
If it wouldn’t have been for my watch telling me the pace I was running, I would have thought I was keeping a pretty good clip because I did feel good! I felt strong, ran hard, and gave it what I had on that particular day, during that particular 20 minutes.
And I did have some “consistent” splits given that the first mile had two hills, the second mile was flat and downhill, and the third mile had another hill followed by some decent into the finish.
Mile 1 – 6:16
Mile 2 – 6:01
Mile 3 – 6:10
Time – 19:28 (6:16 min/mile pace, chip pace)
The other positive thing about the race is that I was the first female finisher for the race, which is always fun to say you won a race even if the competition wasn’t too strong.
I also did look back in my training journal from last year, and I had a very similar experience last year around this time. I wrote in my training log last year that I felt sluggish and flat with my running, which is exactly how I have been feeling in my running now. Luckily it passed within a couple of weeks last year, and I am hoping that is the same this time around as well.
So for now. . . . .onward and upward.
As Winston Churchill once said…”Never, never, never give up”.