Well, here I am, 30 weeks pregnant (10 more to go!) and writing a race recap that I didn’t know I’d be writing.

It’s not a true race recap – like most of my races this year, there were no water stops, starting line, finish line or even crowd support. This weekend should’ve been the Cleveland Marathon race weekend. Every other year, since they announced it, I’ve participated in the Challenge Series (where you run on Saturday and Sunday and get a cool medal and additional swag!), but this year, the race is virtual right now, with a fall race (schedule TBD) in-person.

This year, I’m excited to hopefully run a fall race — I’m looking forward to have something to train for after giving birth and getting the okay from my dr (hopefully in early September). As long as the race is early October or later, i should be fine with running it hopefully!

But, I couldn’t let the virtual event just happen and not participate, especially as a race ambassador. So even though I’m by no means in racing shape these weeks, AND the fact that we were out of town, I knew I couldn’t NOT join the event. So, I signed up for the 5k, with the goal of running the entire thing (these days most of my runs are actually run / walks) and crossed my fingers to hope for the best.

Here’s how the “race” went: 

B and I were away from the weekend, so we had to find a route near where we were staying. 

The first place we found did not work out. We found a state park near where we were staying, got out of the car, started running on the path, and stopped … it ended at .26 miles! There may have been a trail off the path we were on, but alas, we decided to head back to the car and try to find a better option near us.

Luckily, about 12 minutes away we found a paved 1.6 mile trail around a small lake. It was perfect! Relatively flat, paved and then we were able to do two laps to get in my 5k mileage.

I will admit it was HOTTER than I woud’ve liked – it was 70, which is about 30 degrees warmer than my runs have been lately. I wore a tank top and capris, but should’ve put on shorts. It was slightly rolling hills, which was fine since the path was overall relatively flat. I would’ve liked more shade (because of the temperatures) but it was nice to be out in the sunshine!

My goal was to run under 12 minute miles, and to attempt to do the whole run without stopping. Ever since last weekends 10K, my legs and feet have been hurting and my breathing has been rough – I haven’t run without stopping since. But today was my day! Maybe it was knowing it was a “race” – or maybe it was the fact that it was B and me – but I was able to do the 5K at 11 minute miles. AND I got B to take a photo of me!

 

After the run, B and I did a little walking on the path, but I got dizzy for a second, so I decided to just head back to the car and get some water.

It was a different race than usual, but I can’t wait for the fall race to be announced so I can have something to sign up for!

Otherwise, the week went well – I did mostly run/walks, and got in 33.58 miles total for the week.

Weeks Pregnant: 30

Running Streak: Day 387

Some questions for you:

• How do you find places to run when you’re out of town?
• Any virtual races on your list?

Linking up with Deborah and Kim for the Weekly Run Down