Thank you for the encouragement! It's been a bumpy few weeks and I'm expecting some turbulence for the rest of the month so my mindset has shifted to exactly what you said: "something is better than nothing." I'll fit in my workouts when I'm able and forget the rest.
Plus, I finally did some strength training again. I hadn't really done anything in a month or so because travel was making it difficult for the program I was following. A few weeks ago, I sketched out a body weight circuit that I could theoretically do anywhere but hadn't actually done it until yesterday 
I typically run in flatland USA and don't see that kind of elevation change in 10 miles... So yeah, definitely walking that. 
. Last year I saw a serious fade in the back half which I think was mostly due to the heat and lack of water on the course. 
. 
. Why did I do this to myself? Oh well, the real goal is still the WDW marathon so I'll continue to focus on prepping myself for that training and taking it easy for now if that's what my body needs. 
. Honestly, I didn't even have the medal reveal on my mind so it was a pleasant surprise. Like many others, I wish they would have gone with a more classic look. The medals last year were absolutely gorgeous and still had a cohesive theme so it definitely could have been done. I even really like the outrageous 80s/90s theme and think it will look excellent on the race shirts. I'm also hoping for an outlandish Mickey ear hat when I cross that finish line 
. I just want my medals to look like medals. Oh well, in reality, my medals just hide in the basement after the race so it's really not a big deal. 
. 
YESSSSSSSSSS. 2 different color ears? Orange, green, and purple? Please let them be fantastically tacky. I am 100% going to wear mine home on the plane just like I did last (this) year.I'm also hoping for an outlandish Mickey ear hat when I cross that finish line
I had outrageous patterns on my mind like hot pink zebra stripes on one ear and orange/green checkerboard on the other. I better be careful what I wish forYESSSSSSSSSS. 2 different color ears? Orange, green, and purple? Please let them be fantastically tacky. I am 100% going to wear mine home on the plane just like I did last (this) year.
. I should still have a solid enough base from the 30 mpw I was doing in July but we keep getting further and further from that. Anyway, not much I can do about it now. I’ll do my best to follow the rest of my 10K plan and as long as I can keep stringing together these 20 mpw, like I have been the last few weeks that should be good enough. 
. Hopefully that doesn't come back to haunt me this week but I feel perfectly fine today... Well, running wise. I actually have a pounding headache because I walked full speed into a pole this morning, but let's not talk about that 
)
It seems to be fine now. I was still a bit off this morning and my nose is slightly swollen. At this point,I just hope it doesn't bruise because I do not want to explain this to my coworkers
. It had been tentatively in my plan for a few weeks but I hadn't actually registered. In fact, just yesterday I updated my training schedule to remove the 5K and add back in the interval workout.
I also thought it would be good for me just to get back to training since I've had a rocky August. Ultimately, that rocky August is exactly why I signed up though. I'm going to use this race to see how well prepared I am to break 50 min in the 10K in two weeks .AND the race starts 1 mile from my home which will be a nice warmup/cooldown.
There's nothing that I can post to give you any semblance of advice, but I wish you the best of luck! The only tip that I can give you is to try to enjoy the experience.So....I just signed up for a 5K on Sunday
The thing is, I really hate 5Ks. They're HARD. Anyone who tells you differently is a liar.
On the plus side, the weather is predicted to be practically perfect. Honestly, I don't think it could get much better for early September: High 50s & cloudy.
Anyone got any last minute tips for how to race a 5K? It's been nearly 5 years since I've raced one.
. I guess my strength training & warm ups are helping after all.
You quoted @DopeyBadger twice about embracing the suck. Did it really suck that much? LOLRun to Exile 10K Training - Week 18/20
I've been debating if I should write a race report and if it makes sense to do that before or after the weekly training recap. Obviously there's no right answer and it's not something that really matters so I was stuck in decision limbo. Hence the delay. However, the delay is not an indication of how the training week went because, all in all, things went quite well.
I'm feeling confident that my PR goal is in reach but also questioning on if I can do it. I seem to find my place in this exact head space before every big race. Does the self doubt ever go away?
Scheduled
Monday - off
Tuesday - T 3x1mi
Wednesday - Easy 6
Thursday - off
Friday - Easy
Saturday - Easy
Sunday - 5K race
Completed
Monday - off
Tuesday - T 3x1mi - These T paced runs always make me nervous. Obviously, they're way more difficult than easy running and I'm always doubting if I can run at pace for so long. R & I are faster & shorter intervals and don't fill me with near as much doubt. It's just something about holding a pace for more than a few minutes. You might think that I'd have them figured out by now, but I don't. This time around those first two intervals felt easy but that last one was a killer and I ended up a bit slower than desired.
Wednesday - Easy 6 - we went to a concert on Tuesday and I didn't sleep particularly well. This made it very difficult to get out of bed, especially for a run. I ended up waiting until after work. It was a bit warm but was fine for an easy run.
Thursday - off
Friday - Easy 4.75 - I really wasn't sure how far to run since my schedule all of a sudden had a race on Sunday so I just headed out the door and ran whatever felt right. It was warm again but it was the first run since I started doing warm ups that my quads weren't tight
Saturday - Easy 3.75 - this run was on the treadmill and I disliked it a lot. I'm going to need to find something to watch to distract me before winter hits.
Sunday - 5K race - first of all, thank you for the advice. I did my best to heed all of it but was only mildly successful. In fact, the race could be summarized as:
I started the race waaaay too fast. It was a small field and I underestimated how fast they would start so I started with them. I knew I was going fast but was having trouble finding the lap pace on my Garmin to really know how bad it was. Luckily, I realized it was unsustainable at about 3/4 mile and made an effort to slow down a bit. First mile was 7:21. I tried to settle in to the second mile while still being uncomfortable and finished that mile in 7:49. After that, I knew there was only a mile left and it was time to empty the tank, unfortunately, the tank was already running low and the last mile was my slowest at 7:53. In the end, I finished in 23:39 per the race results. I was hoping for a smidge faster, but I learned some things and will use those when I tackle the 10K in 10 days.
Yes it did. I should have quoted him at least 10 more times! This is why I don't typically race that many 5Ks.
