We signed up for the Ninja 5k, mostly because part of the medal spins and Scott has a thing for spinners. :) Registering for a virtual run was the same process as registering for any live race we have done before. After the process was complete I received an email with instructions on how to log our run when we did it and also saying our medals would be mailed within 15 days. I assumed that meant 15 days after we posted our run to the site. However, a day or two later I received another email saying we had a shipment coming our way. Our medals arrived a few days before we were leaving to go out of town.
Since we signed up before my Princess Half and didn't have any 3 mile runs to do before we left, we put it on the calendar to do a week after we returned from our cruise and decided to not open the envelopes that held our medals. I knew I would want a break from running after the half since I had been training for one race or another since July. The timing of things made it possible for Scott and I to run together today. We didn't go into it saying we were going to do our Ninja 5k. Both of us were expecting a slower (for us) run. Yesterday my run was extremely painful and I had to stop at 2 miles. Scott just wanted to try for something slower because he had a couple very fast runs recently.
By the time we got to 1 mile I knew we were going faster then the 10+ minute mile we were thinking. Scott's RunKeeper told us we had averaged 9:25 that mile. It was at that point that I told Scott we should do the extra .1 and make this our 5k. Especially since we weren't sure when we'd be able to run together again and we definitely wanted this 5k to be one we did together. That's benefit #1 to a virtual run- Deciding mid-run to make it a race. :-D Scott agreed with me and we decided that if we could keep our total average pace under 9:30 we would make it our 5k. I was still skeptical though. This was only my second run since the Princess Half almost three weeks ago and that would mean keeping a pace at least a minute faster than yesterday's run that I struggled with.
At about a mile and a half I had to stop and tie my shoes. I figured that would slow us down some. When we hit 2 miles our average pace was around 9:40. I knew I'd need to pick up the pace if we wanted our medals. I was feeling better than yesterday, but still feeling it. I tried to run faster. At 2 3/4 Scott said if we wanted to get under 9:30 we'd have to pick up the pace. I was ready to stop. I didn't know how I'd be able to go any faster. Scott talked to me for the next couple minutes. Encouraging me and pushing me. When my RunKeeper said 3 I almost stopped. Those last few seconds to get the extra .1 seemed to take forever. When I finally got there, stopped RunKeeper, and looked down, I realized we had done much better than a 9:30. Scott had lied to me! lol I think if he had not pushed me we still would have had a 9:30, but he knew I had it in me to go faster, even when I didn't think I did.
My total time was 28:46, average pace 9:15.
It goes to show that while running is obviously very physical, a lot of what stops you is mental. You can feel exhausted. You can feel pain. You can also push even just a little harder. Tell your brain to shut up and follow your heart. When I finished I imagined myself pushing through a ribbon at a finish line. I had won my race.
Virtual racing is definitely on our list of repeat races. :-D I see many more in our future. Whoever thought of the idea is brilliant! Benefit #2 to a virtual race- James and Evie were with us the whole time! Next time, we'll be sure to have biking medals for them also.
Race stats for our Virtual Ninja 5k:
Total time- 28:46
Average pace- 9:15
Splits- Mile 1- 9:25, Mile 2- 9:43, Mile 3- 8:45
Race Placement- 64th and 65th out of 515 participants! (Subject to change as participants can post results until March 31st)
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