Surprised Myself with a Solid Effort! {Actifit & 5k Recap}

Sometimes we surprise even ourselves. In my case today it was a very pleasant one! I had a 5k race this morning that I wasn't really expecting much out of but I knew I would go into it doing the best I could today. After not really sticking with a solid training plan and being under the weather this past week I figured I'd just go out and have fun.

It was quite frigid this morning with frost on the ground and temperatures right around the freezing mark. @dksart (my perpetual cheerleader) and I hung out in the car until right before the race started. Luckily it was a fairly small race so we didn't have to get to the start line super early. The sun was also out today after a really dreary week, too. It actually turned out to be a truly stunning day!

I lined up towards the front as usual for the smaller local races. Even when not at my best I still tend to do fairly well compared to the rest of the pack. If nothing else I know I can start out fast then settle in to my pace once it clears out past the start line. I was still having a little trouble breathing with some residual mucus hanging out in my respiratory system, so I just tried to focus on good foot turnover and enjoy the ride. You can see my split times ended up being very consistent.

Once I got going it just felt so great to turn it on again! I don't always realize how much I miss running (and running fast) until I get sidelined for a week or so. Though I don't always love cold weather, I do run faster in the cooler temps than in the hot, humid summer here. When I pulled up my final chip time I was shocked to see I was under 23 minutes! I haven't hit that since the beginning of the year!

It was good enough to make me the second place female finisher and 20th overall. Not too bad for just having fun. 😉 Apparently the fun didn't finish at the end of the race, though, as after we got in the car and started driving away I realized there was a bit of a mix-up in the medals since I am most definitely not a male. As my mom pointed out, at least I don't have that medal already!

On a final note, I forgot my phone case to wear while running so my steps today would have been a lot higher with the race included. At least I still got plenty in hustling to get ready for a soup swap party at our house tomorrow.

Have a great weekend!

Daily Activity, House Chores