I did my first solo race this past weekend as part of the virtual Alaska Heart Run 5K. I can’t say I have ever done a virtual race, but we are in a new normal right now, so things have changed.
The Alaska Heart Run kicks off the spring/summer racing season here, and I was really looking forward to getting out and racing postpartum after having Bjorn nearly 7 months ago.
This was my first race back after having Cullen 5 years ago, and I wanted to see where I was with my postpartum fitness now after having Bjorn. When I knew that the race wasn’t going to happen, I was bummed. I live for summer races up here, and it keeps me motivated through the bitter cold winter months to put in the miles and hard workouts each week.
I went back and forth on whether to run the race myself. Like I said, I really wanted to see where my fitness was, but I knew it would be hard to run as fast without the race atmosphere–the people cheering, having other runners there to push me, and the excitement of race day. Ultimately, my coach and Craig convinced me to do it, so Saturday morning we loaded up the boys and went to the race course just as we would if the event was actually happening.
I treated race day basically the same as if I was running the race that morning, but I had the added luxury of taking my time getting out of the house and starting whenever I was ready, which is a big perk when kids are involved.
I got ready, and then had my usual pre-race breakfast, which isn’t exactly the same each time, but lately I’ve been having a protein bar along with a bowl of cereal with almond milk. We didn’t have any caffeinated coffee in the house, so I had a cup of decaf coffee. The only time I drink caffeinated coffee is before a long run and races, so I feel that kick even more.
Of course you can do a virtual run anywhere, but since I really wanted to compare my times postpartum, I wanted to run the actual Heart Run course. So we loaded up the family and drove to the Alaska Airlines center to run the course.
When we got there, I did my normal warm-up routine of a 2 mile jog, static stretches, followed by dynamic drills, and a few striders. I spent close to 30 minutes warming-up, which is pretty typical for a race of this distance.
Then it was time to go. I told Craig the route, and we discussed some of the logistics right before I started.
Once I started, I immediately settled into a comfortably hard pace. Thankfully all these years of running and racing have made me pretty good at honing in on the appropriate pace from the get-go. The first section of the course was the most likely to have the heaviest traffic, but thankfully only one car came up on me, which was nice because I didn’t want to have to be preoccupied with traffic and lose my focus on the race.
As I ran that first mile, I envisioned starting out with runners all around me running the same pace. I saw the leaders make the first hairpin turn, and I following shortly afterwards. I visualized so many of the things I usually encounter during this race since this was my 6th time running this race. I think that helped me stay focused and simulate race day as best I could.
I came through the first mile in 6:20. I knew I needed to maintain a pace of 6:15 to beat my previous time. The first mile does have a sizable hill in it, so while I wasn’t too worried, I also knew I could not slack on my pace.
I ran through the Alaska Pacific University (APU) campus and saw my pace start to slip, so I focused on picking it up a little and using the downhill to pick up the pace. When I got to a straight, flat section, I saw my pace dip below a 6 minute pace, and I was just over half way at this time. I was still feeling pretty good at this point, so I was pretty optimistic I could keep up a pace in the low-6s for the remainder of the race.
Craig was following me in the car and cheering for me periodically, but if anything, I heard Cullen loud and clear so many times! He is definitely starting to get this whole racing thing, which is fun. I focused on running for him and Bjorn. I thought about all of the people who encouraged me to run the race on Instagram and who were cheering for me virtually.
I came through mile two in 6:07. Phew! I then ran through the parking lot of UAA (Univeristy of Alaksa – Anchorage), and once I was off campus, I knew I only had about half of a mile to go. As I saw my pace still in the low 6s on my watch, I became even more optimistic I could run faster than I did postpartum with Cullen. Now it was just a matter of how much time could I cut off.
As I turned the second to last corner, I saw a guy standing on the sidewalk with a camera. He asked if I was running the Heart Run, and I didn’t answer him because I was trying to conserve every ounce of energy for the last quarter of a mile. (haha!) He asked again, and I gave him the thumbs up.
My watch clicked over to 3 miles with a split of 6:11. I cruised that last 0.11 mile at a pace of 5:30 for a final time of 19:18! Yes!! Thirteen seconds faster than I ran 6 months postpartum after having Cullen. And a new 5K PR on my watch because somehow all of my records got deleted off my watch.
Craig, Cullen, and Bjorn were at the finish cheering for me! And then the photographer came over and introduced himself as someone from the local newspaper (Anchorage Daily News – ADN). Ha! I had no idea someone from the newspaper was going to be there. He asked me a few questions, took a couple more photos, and then someone else called me a little while later with some more questions.
You can read the whole article here –> The Heart Run goes virtual, and draws runners from Angoon to Anchorage to Albuquerque
I was so happy to beat my time from five years ago. I was hopeful I could as I’ve had some workouts go really well this winter but more recently my workouts haven’t been as fast. I was fitter going into this pregnancy, and I am glad that the fitness has carried over. It feels good to know I am now running even faster after two babies, but I still need to secure that big, dream goal of mine of a sub-3 hour marathon, so my work has only started!
I am going to write a blog post giving tips for doing a virtual race or solo race, so if you have questions regarding that, leave them in the comments section below.
Great Job! I have been following you for years and years…I think since 2009. I have always admired your dedication to running, and I will have a celebration with you when you accomplish your marathon goal.