I'm often intimidated by running in the cold. If I notice the wind chill dip slightly, I'd rather stay inside bundled up in blankets, rather than lacing up my running shoes. Nonetheless, I decided that winter running in the Chicago-land area is something to embrace, rather than avoid. With that in mind, I ended up running a 5k rather last minute on Saturday. I quickly charged my Garmin, threw on some cold weather gear, and headed to the door.
Goal of the race: Finally, finally break 30 minutes in a 5K.
Pros of the race: easily organized course, smallish number of runners, not terribly freezing at the 9:00 start time.
Cons: no chip timing, which led to a bit of time discrepancy, no drink stations on the course (which wasn't a huge deal during a 5K, though some other runners were saying they were thirsty)
Overall, I enjoyed this run. The course was a basic loop through a suburban area, which was pleasant. My feet warmed up right away, even though I was lightly brushed with a tiny bit of snow along the way. It just felt great to be outside running and listening to a great soundtrack.
What was also successful for me was not taking a single walking break during my run. If I'm running on a treadmill, I am a champion of the walking break. Often, I'm the champion of stopping my treadmill completely to tie my shoe, fix my ponytail, drink water, watch Oprah more intently. In an effort to no longer be the local gym annoyance, I'm trying to cut back on my slowing or stopping, so what better way to do it than run consistently through the whole race? This key factor in and of itself helped me to finally break that 30 minute block.
Final time? 29:51, giving me a 9-second grace period. My Garmin time puts me at 29:33, which I'll take as well. Here's to this year bringing more time for speedwork, a half-marathon, and a bevy of other fun runs along the way!
Race day mix:
"Telephone" - Lady Gaga
"Spotlight" - Gucci Mane
"Don't Stand So Close to Me / Young Girl" - Glee soundtrack
"Way Away" - Yellowcard
"Hard" - Rhianna
"I'm Not Over" - Carolina Liar
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Much love to those of you who run in the cold. Yayyy, I'm your first follower. Happy running!
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mywickedwickedways.org
Yay, I'm so excited to have a follower! Heading to your blog to check it out too! I'm always looking for fellow friends in the super fun diet/exercise/weight loss journey!
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