First Week of Summer and the Living Ain't Easy

I registered for a virtual 5K....thanks to Running, Loving, Living: The road to my dreams........The lure of the prize gets me excited, like I found a BOGO free shoe sale.Toni has a lot of sponsors and prizes for this race, so I am hoping to get lucky. Since I was running without my partner tonight I decided this would be the night to beat my current 5K time. It wasn't. First of all, I ran a route that I love to hate....it is gravel with something poured over it to call it "paved". The road is graded diagonally for a good distance, and then there are a few tiny hills...to drive over them you wouldn't even notice, but when Moe and Joe are taking you over them, well, that is a different feeling entirely. You can feel it in your shins before you even get started. The incline burns, and it sort of lasts. Not to mention that incline gets you out of breath...which today isn't so hard because I haven't been taking my Allegra and I've had some sinus issues, and it's gone straight to my chest, which has been tight and stinging today. I started back with Allegra and have take Mucinex D to help. I have drank so much water I feel like a camel's hump. I am praying earnestly to ask that I not get bronchitis again. I have to remember never to be without allergy meds.

I started my run. My new Brooks Ghost shoes are like running on the best track known to man. I am able to keep my form better and my feet don't hurt thanks to these shoes. The first mile wasn't bad, the second mile was okay, and by the third mile I looked and felt as if I had just stepped out of a Turkish bath. Humid does not describe the weather, and hot doesn't do it justice.....I would say it was more like an inferno. And the gnats! There must have been a high birth rate for gnats this year. I am thankful that the horseflies and deer flies bothered some other living, breathing thing. As I reached my turn-a-round point, I spied a NEW dog in the driveway of a house.........and it looked like a pit bull. It was lying there not moving, which is what I wish I was doing at that moment, but my heart began to race faster than it already was. I just imagined as I turned around with my back to the dog that he would turn Kujo and attack. Thankfully, the scene that played out in my head didn't happen. I was trying to figure out how I would climb on top of the nearest mailbox, and THAT wasn't going to be pretty. I pressed on, thinking how great some of the prizes for this 5K would be, like the headband to keep sweat from dripping in my eyes, or the cute skirt I could run in. I did use my intervals to incorporate a few walk breaks, because I am still not at the point I can run an entire 3.1 miles. I'm not going to stress, however, because these few little walk breaks tremendously help my knees, hips, and back and keep me from being totally winded by the end of my run. Also, Runkeeper was acting up. It is disappointing when you pay money for something and it works half the time. SOMEONE needs to get those satellites straight so my GPS will log me on the map without manually having to start and stop the app to get it to update to the correct distance. I'm going to blame that on losing some precious seconds for this run.

The very best facet of a virtual 5K is the fact that you are not competing against anyone, except yourself. I'm my own worst enemy, and my toughest competitor.  I don't need to race against anyone, but it's kind of hard to have that mentality when you are in a crowd at the starting line and the adrenaline starts pumping, or you have some other runner breathing down your neck and you know it is their entire goal, no matter if they have a heart attack or what, to beat you. One of my coaches said a little "friendly" competition is good, and I agree, but only if it is really "friendly". I prefer the ME vs. ME race, and even though I didn't beat my current time, I can live with that. I have dropped another clothing size and can enjoy some of my favorite frocks that I haven't worn in years.  My husband was very impressed with me, and I know it's because 17 years ago when we married and tried to run and I couldn't even make it to the next mailbox, he had given up any hope of an ounce of athleticism from me.

Here's looking forward to a flat stretch of road and a cool morning...........