I Run 4 Rescues Virtual 5K Race Report

I signed up to run the I Run 4 Rescues Virtual 5K quite a while ago, maybe before I'd really even gotten too far back into running.  I can't remember exactly.

I totally admit it. I got sucked in by the adorable dogs and the fact that the shirt and metal would contain my favorite color combo...



I've actually had my race packet for quite a while, but I wanted to be at a point where I could actually RUN the race before I did it so I had been holding off.

I decided to do the run on Tuesday evening. It was my first official day in quarantine so I was off work and it seemed as good a time as any.  I wanted a change of scenery from the route I ran for my last virtual 5K, so I opted for an out and back course on the trails along side the water collection canals that run throughout the area.

On to the Race Report...

I drive to the point where my neighborhood connects to the canal trails and park the car. I get myself prepared and take a pre-race photo...



I set my running app on my phone and my Apple Watch, and then I take off.

And instantly realize that I forgot to delay my passcode requirement on my phone. (It drives me insane having to type it every time I want to check my distance, so I always change it during runs.) So, I spend the first several minutes of my run fiddling with that to get it turned off.

The trail runs East-West, so I either have to run into the sun on the way out or the way back. I decided to get it over with, thinking maybe it'll be a little higher in the sky at the start and not quite so blinding.

Almost instantly I fall into a nice easy rhythm and the run feels great. Not too far into the course, I pass by the small rec center near my neighborhood and the area is busier than I'd prefer for a run during quarantine. So, I spend a significant amount of time running off the trail and then back on to avoid people coming toward me.

Maybe .75 miles in, I reach a main road that I need to cross and have to wait for the light to change. I use the time for a water break and actually remember to pause the timer on my app. The light finally changes and I restart my app and take off running again.

I'm still in a nice steady grove, having zero issues. I'm in that perfect place where everything is in sync and I'm not struggling in the slightest. I'm enjoying my music but it's not having to pull me through. My mind is aimlessly wandering about, taking in my surroundings, thinking about how good the run feels, pondering what I am going to do with my upcoming days while in quarantine.

I check my app to see my distance (which is one of the worst things about a virtual race in my opinion!) and see that I'm about 1.4 miles in - almost at the halfway point. I can see that I am approaching another main road not too far up ahead, and decide to make that my turn around point. I know that it's going to be a little farther out than necessary, but I figure it will allow me a nice little cool down walk from the end of the 5K back to my car.

I get to the road and use the turn around for another water break, and then take off running again. I'm still going strong and having no issues. I'm thinking how pleasant the run is and how surprising it is after not having run for more than two week. I'm thinking it's nice to have the sun at my back instead of running into it, and I decided to snap a selfie...



I hit somewhere around 2.6 miles and I could feel myself starting to get tired. I was reaching the point where I needed a song to really pump me up and keep me moving. I started skipping through songs searching for the right one, when "Let's Go" by Trick Daddy popped up.

YES! Perfect!

I'm wondering if the song is long enough to take me the rest of the way through the race. When all of a sudden...

POP!

And OUCH!!!

WTF??!!

The middle of my right calf has this insane twitching popping sensation go through it and it INSTANTLY seizes up. I can't figure out if I tore something or pulled something or if it is just an insane cramp.

All I know is it freaking HURTS!

I instantly stop and try to stretch it out. I try massaging it. But nothing is really helping.

I try walking but I can't without a major limp.

I decide that I really think what I felt was an insane spasm and then the muscle seized. I really think it is just a horrible cramp, and I decide to just ride it out. I have to get back to the car regardless, and walking was so miserable I decide to try running. Oddly enough it is infinitely better. The running is stretching the calf muscle more than walking and it helps. So, I take off running again, albeit a lot slower.

Pretty quickly, I reach the main road that I need to cross, only this time I do forget to pause the app. While I'm standing waiting for the light to change, I can feel the calf tightening again but once I start running again it feels a little better.

I make it the rest of the way and call it a done deal as soon as I hit 3.1 miles. I stop my app and Apple Watch, and don my metal.

I did it!

I take a few post run photos with my metal...





Then hobble my way back to the car.

Here are the results from my app...



I am thrilled that the first two miles were faster than the last race. Even the third mile wasn't too awful considering part of it was when I forgot to pause the app while waiting for the light, and of course I was walking/hobbling along for a bit of that, too.